


Brothers beyond blood

by dont_hate_me01



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010), Magnum P.I. (TV 2018), SEAL Team (TV)
Genre: Angst, Gen, Hurt Clay Spenser, Hurt Junior Reigns, Language, M/M, Underage sexual assault (rape) mentioned
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-22
Updated: 2021-01-22
Packaged: 2021-03-12 06:47:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 24,663
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28881210
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dont_hate_me01/pseuds/dont_hate_me01
Summary: Being Ashland Spenser’s kid never opened any doors for Clay. Instead, he gets suspended for being apossible leak, and beaten for being Ash’s kid. Injured, Clay makes his way to Hawaii where he meets up with Junior Reigns. They had completed BUD/s together and Clay knew that Junior would have his back were Bravo failed. Unfortunately, things are not that simple.
Relationships: Junior Reigns/Tani Rey, Steve McGarrett/Thomas Magnum
Comments: 29
Kudos: 130
Collections: Every Fandom Reverse Bang 2020





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Red_Pink_Dots](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Red_Pink_Dots/gifts).



> **AN 1:** This story was inspired by the amazing [Red_Pink_Dots](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Red_Pink_Dots) who created a piece of art which I grabbed with both my hands and didn't want to let go. Thank you for sharing your amazing talent with us, and being beyond patient with me to get this story on paper. I can only hope this story will do your art justice. Go and give her some well deserved Kudos at the [Art Post](https://archiveofourown.org/works/28792230) here.
> 
>  **AN 2:** To [RoboFoxtrot](https://archiveofourown.org/users/RoboFoxtrot) who got pulled into the project while she was a mere innocent bystander, thank you for doing the beta work and helping me _waddle_ through this story.
> 
>  **AN 3:** Lastly, to the mods over at the [Every Fandom Reverse Bang](https://everyfandombangs.wordpress.com/reverse-bang/), thank you for hosting this wonderful challenge!

McGarrett pulled away from Thomas at the sound of someone knocking on his front door. “It’s my weekend off, it’s our weekend off.”

Magnum smiled. “We know it’s not Danny, Rick or T.C.”

“Correct, because none of them would knock, they would just walk right in.”

“Friends,” Thomas replied with a roll of his eyes. “Go and answer that, I’ll get the coffee.” He leaned in and gave Steve a quick kiss before he moved away.

Steve grinned. “Good idea.” He made his way through and opened the door. “This better be good.”

“Commander.” Junior stood in the door.

“You okay?” Steve asked, concerned. He stepped back and let his young teammate enter the house.

“I’m okay, Boss. I’m sorry to bother you on your weekend off but I wouldn’t have if it wasn’t important.”

“What is it, Junior? Is it your family? Tani, is she okay?” Steve inquired.

“They are all fine, I promise. This is something different.”

Thomas entered the living room with three mugs of steaming coffee. “When I heard it was Junior, I made him some as well.”

He handed a mug to Steve and handed the other to Junior. “You all right, kid?”

“Thanks, Commander.”

Steve sighed and rolled his eyes. “You know before you came into the picture Junior only called me commander.”

Thomas smiled. “I’ve told him more than once to call me Thomas, or Magnum.”

“It’s a sign of respect, Sir.” Junior bit down on his bottom lip.

“We both know that, Junior. I’m just pulling your leg.” Steve took a seat next to Magnum and both men waited for Junior to sit down as well.

“Something has got you worried.” Magnum remarked.

Junior nodded. He took a deep breath. “Do either of you remember Ashland Spenser?”

“Senior Chief Spenser. I remember. Huge ego. Not a bad SEAL. Got himself PNGed due to his book,” Steve answered.

“Yes.” Junior nodded. “Well, he’s got a son.”

“Ash Spenser? He couldn’t be a father to a rock never mind a living human being.” Magnum added.

Junior smiled but became somber again. “Clay will agree with you on that.”

“Clay is the son I gather?” Steve asked.

“Yip. And he is a SEAL, just much better than his old man. He’s DEVGRU and is running with Bravo team.”

“Jason Hayes’ team?” Steve sounded impressed.

Junior nodded. “Clay has been their rookie for over two years now. He’s been groomed by Jason himself to take over Bravo when Jason retires. Clay has been described as a true believer, Boss. He would do everything for his team and his country.”

“Even if it is said that true believers get themselves killed.” Magnum eyed Steve.

“Don’t look at me, I’m still alive.” Steve responded. “And by the way, the same has been said about you as well, _White Knight_.

“I’m just grateful both of you are alive, because I need your help.” Junior interrupted.

“Sorry.” Steve held up his hand. “What can we help with?”

“Has it got something to do with Ash’s kid, Clay?” Magnum inquired.

Junior nodded. “I met Clay when I was doing BUDs. He was this skinny kid with too long hair, bleached white from the sun and these blue eyes that stared into your soul. He hadn’t been in the States for long since he returned from Liberia after the death of his maternal grandparents.”

“Wait? Are you saying he was raised in Africa?”

Junior nodded at Steve’s question. “He didn’t tell me on that day, hell, it took weeks before he spoke a word to me. The long and the short of part of the story is that he was shipped to Liberia at the age of six where his grandparents did missionary work. He was raised by them and just after his seventeenth birthday, a group of rebels attacked the missionary and killed everyone on site. Clay and his best friend were at the river and survived. Clay was shipped here and got placed back in Ash’s care.”

“What about his mother?”

“Not worth the ink that was used to write her name on Clay’s birth certificate.” Junior sounded angry.

Steve cringed at Junior’s words. When Thomas reached out and squeezed his hand, he returned the gesture.

“In any case, Clay turned eighteen, signed up for BUDs, qualified, got selected and ended at the top of his class. While he was working his ass off, he had to deal with the issue of Ash, whose book had just been published at that time. Clay weathered the storm, got drafted into Team 3, ended up leading the team and signed up for Green Team training.”

“Which he also aced, if he ended up on Bravo.”

“Correct. Ended up in a three-way tie for the top position but was seen as the top candidate. It didn’t hurt his cause that he got to run with Bravo on an op prior to the final selection.”

Magnum frowned. “How old is he?”

“Twenty-eight.”

Magnum opened his mouth and closed it again.

“He’s the youngest DEVGRU operator in the SEALs history,” Junior explained.

“Seems to me he’s living the perfect life, what problem does he have?”

Junior reached into his pocket and took out a newspaper clipping. He passed it to Steve. “The media made it out as being an attempt from a group of protestors to disrupt the water supply to the region.”

“Let me guess, it was more than that.”

Junior nodded. “Bravo and Alpha teams went in and they stopped a biohazard incident. One that would’ve brought the region to its knees if it succeeded.”

“What happened then?” Steve asked.

“Last week Ash Spenser promoted his newest book on a live newscast and hinted about the incident and said he had inside information from a SEAL who took part in the operation.”

“Shit,” Steve cursed. “Brass saying Clay shared classified information? Did he?”

“Yes they did, and no, he didn’t. Clay will not willingly talk to his dad. In fact, he would rather die than say one word to his old man.”

“His team must believe him? They'll have his back.”

Junior snorted. “You would think so.”

Steve blanched. “What happened?”

“They turned on him. Told him he’s a traitor and kicked him out of the team. He then got attacked by Bravo’s support team and nearly beaten to death.”

“Is he okay?” Magnum asked.

“Should still be in hospital but he signed out AMA, hopped on the first flight over here and is currently sleeping in my bed where Tani is keeping an eye on him.” Junior bowed his head. “He is down on the ropes, Boss. He’s lost all of his trust in his team - his brothers. He really thought they would have his back.” Junior looked up. “The worst part, he already accepted that he’s going to be kicked out of the Navy. And that's just because of his last name.”

“What about Ash? What does he say?”

“He refuses to say who his inside source is. To him it doesn’t matter that his son’s life will be ruined. As long as it means he can sell more books, he doesn’t care.” Junior looked crestfallen. “We have to help him, Commander. We have to clear his name. Please.”

****

**Every Fandom RB Challenge**

Steve cringed and Thomas hissed when they first saw the young Petty Officer. His left eye was swollen shut; the right didn’t look much better. He had a large gash above his right eyebrow that was sutured. His right cheekbone was swollen and Steve had a feeling that it might be broken. Clay had a split lip that still oozed blood. His left arm was immobilized in a sling due to a dislocated shoulder. And that was only the injuries they could see. The way the young man carried himself made Steve suspect that he had busted ribs. There was also something wrong with his right leg as he had a noticeable limp. Steve sighed in relief when Clay finally sat down across from them. He then looked at Clay’s hands. It seemed that Clay didn’t go down easily. Not with all those scrapes and bruised knuckles he noticed.

“How are you feeling?” Thomas asked.

“I’m fine, Sir.”

Magnum glared and turned to Steve. “And here I thought I was talking to someone else but it turned out to be a younger you.”

Steve shrugged. He had a feeling Clay Spenser could be on his deathbed and will still insist on being fine.

Junior spoke up. “It stands for Fucked Up, Insecure, Neurotic, and Emotional.”

“Ah, I see.” Thomas replied. “Then you are at least better than Steve here.”

“Oh no, Magnum, you were right the first time. Clay is just like Steve. Just younger.” Tani spoke up for the first time.

Clay looked chastised and Steve frowned. “Are you saying I’m old, Tani?”

“Not at all.” Tani grinned.

“Good, because I still sign your paycheck each week.”

Tani laughed. “I know, Sir.” She took a seat next to Junior.

“Great, now that we’ve established that Steve is not old, can we focus on the situation.” Danny said where he leaned against the door frame. He had rushed over to Junior’s place when Steve called him. He was not prepared to find a barely living young man and from what Steve had told him, a youngster who was indeed in need of their help. He knew between them and Magnum they would get to the bottom of this mess.

“Yes, Danno.” Steve rolled his eyes at his partner. He grinned when Thomas poked him in the ribs. Steve turned his attention back to Clay.

“Are you guys always this crazy?” Clay looked at the different people gathered around him.

“We’re Ohana.” Steve looked around the room. There was pride in his voice when he stated the fact.

Clay snorted but didn’t comment. He believed he was part of a family and look at what happened to him.

Steve heard the response but didn’t react to it. He understood that the young man felt down in the dumps. “Do you have any idea who would have supplied Ash with that intel?”

Clay shook his head. “It could’ve been anyone. We were two teams; our entire support team went with. There were various intel officers as well. That’s excluding the number of upper brass that and their aides that were also there.”

“From what Junior told us is that you don’t have a good relationship with your dad,” Magnum stated.

“Ash is not my dad. He might be the sperm donor but that’s how far his involvement went in my life.” Bitterness laced Clay’s voice. “But you're right. I don’t have a good relationship with him.” He looked down at his feet. “I tried,” he whispered.

“Clay?” Junior asked. It’s been years since he last heard the younger man so despondent.

Clay lifted his head. “Just before this mission he contacted me. I still don’t know why I answered his call. He told me he was sorry. He told me he wanted to try and mend the fences between us. He asked if we could meet up for drinks.” Clay took a deep breath. “We got spun up earlier and we didn’t go for drinks. After we returned, he extended the invite again. He sounded so sincere and I ended up going.”

Thomas and Steve shared a look.

“What happened?” Junior asked.

“We met. Things started off great. But the more he drank the nastier he got. I ended up leaving before I slugged him. That was the last time I saw him.”

“How did you find out about the new book?” Magnum inquired.

“Weeks later I was at the bar waiting for the team when I saw the interview on the TV. The news anchor didn’t even finish the interview when my phone rang and I got summoned back to the base.”

“They accused you of leaking classified intel to Ash?”

Clay shrugged at Steve’s question. “Not in so many words at that stage. I was asked if I did share the details, I said no. I was told there would be a full investigation into the matter and until such time I am on suspension. I should stay off the base and I should have no contact with my team or with Ash. I was told that NCIS would contact me and I was ordered to give my full cooperation.”

“I tried to contact my team, to tell them it wasn’t me. It didn’t matter to me that I was told not to contact them. I had to tell them.” Clay sounded desperate. “I called Jason, Sonny. Hell, I called them all. Not one of them answered my calls. They had already decided I was guilty.”

“Maybe they were also just following orders?”

“Bravo team is many things, following orders - not so much.” Clay shook his head. “They kicked me off the group chat. I then realized they’ve made up their minds. It hurt but I hoped that NCIS would clear things up.” He snorted.

“What happened?”

“The lead agent came to see me. Showed me photos of me and Ash hugging, drinking, laughing. I tried to explain it was only this one time. He didn’t look convinced. I even went as far and told him how the night ended. He merely shrugged and left.” Clay slowly rose to his feet. He shook his head when Junior tried to help him. “The next day I was called back to base. I was informed that NCIS could find no supporting evidence that I shared the intel with Ash and has closed their investigation on me. However, the internal investigation was still ongoing. And since Ash refused to say who his source is, and because of the _incriminating_ photos of me and Ash, they were extending my suspension. All of my past actions would be reviewed to see if there were any similar incidents. I was then dismissed.” Clay slowly paced the room. He continued talking as he walked.

“As I walked out of the briefing room the door to the team room opened. Jason ordered me in.” Clay swallowed. “They all glared at me. When I tried to speak up, Jason talked over me. He told me I was a disgrace to the team. That I was no better than Ash. That it was clear that I could not be trusted. Not with classified intel and not with their lives.” Clay swallowed hard. “Jason ripped off my Bravo insignia and tossed it on the floor. He told me I had an hour to clear out my cage and get out of their lives. No one else said a word to me. They just stood up and left.” A stray tear rolled down his cheek and he wiped it away.

“When were you attacked?”

Clay made his way back to the chair he vacated earlier and gingerly sat down. “After I cleared my cage I headed to my car. The tires were slashed. It took me close to three hours to sort it out and by the time I reached my apartment, it was dark. They attacked me in the parking lot. I did my best to fight back but eight against one is not favorable odds. I recognized some of the voices. A kick to the head left me unconscious and I only woke up in the hospital hours later.”

“Concussed.” Junior added.

“Not my first one.”

“You still dealing with the effects of that?” Thomas asked, concerned.

“Blurry vision is much less blurry. The headache is only bad when I breathe but the nausea has settled down somewhat.”

“You should still be in hospital, brother.”

“Hospitals are for sick people, I am not sick.”

“Just as stubborn,” Magnum grumbled under his breath.

Steve ignored the comment. “When does the new book get published?”

“I’m unsure.”

“How many missions did you do between that one and when the interview aired?”

“At least six, seven. Why?” Clay wondered.

“Because we need to know what else is in that book,” Steve explained.

“Ash won’t share it. And how will it help?”

“We can cross check what else he has in the book, with who had access to the mission details. And by cross checking we might be able to find a possible suspect,” Thomas answered.

“And how are you planning on getting a copy of the manuscript?”

Thomas grinned. “I’ve got my ways.”

“You can’t steal it.”

Thomas looked shocked at Danny’s statement. “When have I ever stolen anything?”

“Well, there was the time when you stole the Ming Vase from the Chinese Embassy.” Steve grinned.

“I didn’t steal it. I borrowed it.”

“What about the time you took the Faberge egg?” Danny asked.

“Once again, not stolen. I merely relocated it.”

“To Germany,” Steve responded.

“Listen, what can I say? I’m good at my work. I can get a copy of that manuscript.”

“Ash can’t find out. He will know it is me. I won’t put it past him to contact the cops and accuse me of theft,” Clay responded.

“Ash will not know we got a copy, I promise you.” Thomas placed his hand over his heart.

“Thank you.” Clay slowly got to his feet again. He looked at Junior that hovered next to him. “Will it be okay if I laid down for a while?”

“Sure, no problem,” Junior replied. “You okay?”

Clay nodded slowly. “Just tired.”

“Comes from spending over ten hours on an airplane while injured.” Junior gently guided his young brother back to his room where he made sure Clay got comfortable before he turned to leave.

“Junior?”

“Yeah?”

“Thank you.” Clay closed his eyes.

“We’ve got your back here, brother. We will get to the bottom of this. I promise.” Junior pulled the door closed and made his way back to his small living room.

“Is he all right?” Steve asked.

Junior shook his head. “He’s hurting so much and I’m not talking about any physical discomfort he might be experiencing. When he contacted me and told me he got drafted to Bravo I thought he was going to explode. He was ecstatic. To see him like this - I want nothing more than to go over to that base and kick some Bravo team ass.”

“Let’s get to the bottom of this first and then I’ll gladly join you,” Steve replied.

“I’m also in.” Thomas raised his hand. He shrugged when Danny glared at him. “What? He’s a younger brother. He has to be protected.

Danny pointed to Steve and then to Thomas. “You’re supposed to be the sensible one in the relationship.”

“I am.” Thomas nodded. “And it’s the sensible thing to go to the base and kick ass.”

Danny merely stared at him and then smiled. “You’re right. I will go with. Even if it is just to make sure you deck at least each one of those men once.”

“That’s the spirit.” Steve slapped his best friend on the back. “We’ve got to get going. Thomas, you and Blackburn were friendly at one stage? You going to reach out to him?”

“I’m planning to. I also want to contact Robin. I have a feeling he’d get me a copy of that manuscript easily. If he can’t help, I know that Higgy will definitely help.”

“Is she talking to you again?” Danny grinned. In one of Magnum’s last cases the Ferrari ended up with a few bullet holes. To say that Thomas’ business partner was not impressed would be an understatement of the year.

“We’re good.” Thomas rose to his feet. “I’ll touch base later.” He gave Steve a searing kiss and ignored the catcalls from both Danny and Junior and moved out.

After Magnum left, Steve turned to his team. “Did Clay tell NCIS who assaulted him?” He asked Junior.

Junior sighed. “No, he told the agent he didn’t know them.”

“I know they would’ve checked to see if there were any cameras and if the incident was caught on video. Tani, I want you to see if you can find anything.”

“On it, Boss.”

“What are you going to do?” Danny asked Steve.

McGarrett grinned. “Me?” He pointed at his chest. “Well, I’m going to chat with a few SEALs that seem to have forgotten what it is to have your brother’s back.”

Danny groaned. “Please tell me we’re not going over to the mainland and to do it in person?”

“No. Not for this round. I just want a friendly conversation with Master Chief Hayes. But I want to do it at headquarters. Make it a bit more formal.” Steve grinned but his eyes were ice cold. He will find out who Ash Spenser’s mole is and he will make sure Bravo remembers what it is to have your brother’s back.


	2. Chapter 2

Master Chief Hayes was not impressed to have to chat to Lieutenant Commander McGarrett. He had huffed and puffed but he answered the questions and was not at all satisfied when Steve told him that he had no right to ask why he was asked questions.

Steve made it clear what he thought of how Bravo treated their own brother and that essentially, they had left a brother behind. Something that a SEAL would never do.

What did bother him, was the fact that Hayes seemed to have no knowledge of Clay’s attack. There was something fishy going on. Because he didn’t like Hayes’ attitude, he didn’t inform him that Clay was in Hawaii, he did however tell him that Clay was alive. Steve had contacted Junior and told him to make sure Clay didn’t answer his phone should any of his teammates call.

Steve looked up when the door to his office opened and Thomas walked in. The expression on his face said it all. “What happened?”

Thomas sat down on the couch, stretched his legs out and leaned back after he closed his eyes. “It’s a cluster fuck.” He sighed.

Steve remained silent. He knew Thomas needed time to sort things out in his head before he spoke his thoughts out loud.

“I spoke to Robin, he’ll get us a copy of the manuscript. It should be here within the next twenty-four hours.”

“At least you don’t have to go and steal it.” Steve grinned as Thomas showed him the bird.

“I also spoke to Blackburn.” Thomas sighed. 

“That bad?” Steve moved and sat down next to his lover on the couch.

“Let’s just say that Blackburn is not very impressed with the upper brass at this moment in time.” He sat forward and rubbed his hand over his face. He turned to Steve. “They were aware from the beginning that Clay didn’t supply his father with classified intel. They decided that since he’s a DEVGRU operator he'll be able to handle himself and decided to use him in an attempt to flush out the real culprit.”

“And Blackburn didn’t know any of this?” Steve found that hard to believe.

“He was only informed last night when they also told him that Clay had been attacked.”

Steve frowned. Seemed like Hayes wasn’t the only one kept in the dark. “They’re ripping their best team apart.”

“I made the same comment.” Thomas got to his feet. “Blackburn had the same concern. He was told that if this ripped the team apart, then they weren’t supposed to be a team in the first place.”

“And how can Clay trust any of them again?”

Thomas shrugged. “They did tell Blackburn that Clay would be given an opportunity to select any team he wanted to serve on, no questions asked.”

Steve blanched. “They are throwing him to the wolves. No other team will accept him and if they force him onto any team, no one will trust him. No one will have his back.” He took a deep breath. “What did Blackburn say, what is he going to do?”

“Nothing.”

“What!” Steve jumped to his feet. “Why the hell not?”

“He’s under orders to keep quiet until the guilty party has been caught.”

“Who the fuck is giving these orders? And why does no one care how this is going to affect Clay?” Steve paced. “This is more about finding their leak. This is about getting rid of Clay to get back at his father.”

Thomas nodded. “I’ve reached the same conclusion. Someone is out for revenge and using Clay as a pawn.”

Steve ran his hand tiredly across his face. “Let’s get that transcript first and find the leak and then we’ll see what we can do about the rest of this shit-pile.”

****

**Every Fandom RB Challenge**

“I really don’t think this is a good idea, Clay,” Junior said as he helped his friend from Tani’s car. He’d taken Clay to buy some toiletries and the two were on their way home when Clay had asked him to stop at the beach.

“Please, Junior. We’re here now. It won’t take long. I just need to breathe in the ocean scent and feel the sand beneath my feet.” Clay used his puppy dog eyes to get his friend to cave.

Junior sighed. “Okay, five minutes and then we go back.” Clay had paled in the time they were at the shops and he didn’t want his friend to overdo it.

“Thank you.” Clay grinned. Together the two men slowly made their way from the parking area down to the beach. When they reached the sand, Clay sighed. He’d not put on any shoes when they left Junior’s home and feeling the sand between his toes made him smile. He took some breaths but not too deep due to his fractured ribs. “How do you get any work done here?”

“You’re also at the beach.”

Clay shook his head. “It’s not the same.”

Junior rolled his eyes. “If you say so.” When he heard Clay’s stomach growl he grinned. “You hungry?”

“You have to ask? It’s been a few days since I ate.” Clay saw the look on Junior’s face. “With the concussion and my body black and blue I didn’t have an appetite. I think this fresh Hawaiian air is making me hungry.”

“I believe you.” Junior slapped him gently on the shoulder. “I’ve got just the place to go to. And the best thing, it’s still on the beach.”

“As long as it’s not something fancy.” Clay looked down at his bare feet.

“Food truck.” Junior grinned. “Run by a friend of ours by the name of Kamekona. You have to try the garlic shrimp. It’s really tasty.”

“Lead the way.” Clay followed Junior back to the car and scanned the parking area before he got into the car.

“Everything okay?” Junior asked.

Clay nodded. “Just being paranoid.”

“You’re safe here, Clay.” Junior pulled out of the parking and drove down the road.

“I know.” Clay leaned his head against the headrest. “Want to tell me about you and Tani?”

Junior grinned. “She’s amazing.”

“She must be if she’s putting up with you,” Clay joked.

“Ha-ha, real funny.” Junior looked in his side mirror and then in the rearview mirror and frowned. “Hold on,” he told Clay as he quickly turned down a side street. 

“What’s going on?” Clay tried to look back but his ribs protested too much.

“I’m not sure. I think we’re being followed.” Junior took out his phone and handed it to Clay just as the same black SUV he saw earlier pulled in behind them. “Phone Steve and tell him we’re on Helumoa Road and being followed by a black SUV.” Junior gave him the make and model of the vehicle and knew that Clay would follow his instructions as he put his foot down on the gas and increased their speed. He had to get away or at least get some back up. He didn’t even have his pistol on him.

The SUV closed the gap between them easily and rode right on the smaller car’s tail. “Brace yourself,” Junior warned as the large vehicle bared down on them. There were no streets to turn into. Both sides of the street had parked cars. He knew the SUV was going to hit them and there was nothing he could do to stop it from happening.

The impact was hard as the SUV rammed into the car. Clay grunted as his body got slammed into the door. At least the seatbelt protected him from launching forward.

“Here they come again!” Junior groaned at the next impact. The SUV clipped him on the back fender and the car started to spin. Junior tried to get it under control but struggled. The last thing he saw was the same vehicle barreling down on them and hitting Tani’s car right on the passenger door. The small car flipped and skidded down the road before it slammed into some parked cars. Neither man saw the SUV speeding off, or heard the sirens of the emergency vehicles as they raced towards them.

****

**Every Fandom RB Challenge**

Steve ran at full speed down the passage and burst through the ER doors.

“Commander McGarrett,” Sergeant Duke Lukela called out as he saw the man running in.

“Duke, what do you have for me? Any news? Have you spoken to a doctor?” When he received Clay’s call he and Danny were on the other side of the island. He had contacted HPD and relayed the information. Clay hadn’t ended the call but kept the line open. He had heard how the SUV slammed into the smaller car. He had heard the deafening silence as he tried to get Clay or Junior to talk to him and received no response.

“I know Spenser was taken directly to the OR and they are still examining Junior. I spoke to Junior before they lifted him in the ambulance. He looked pretty banged up but it didn’t look like anything serious. No doctor has come out but the nurse said they will keep us up to date. We’ve got roadblocks up all over the island and choppers in the air looking for the vehicle. We’ll find it.”

“Check surveillance and street cams, I want to know how many people were in that SUV and find that car.” Steve dragged his hand across his face. He couldn’t believe this was happening. The problem was that he had no idea if this incident was related to Clay, or if it had to do with Junior and the team. They had to figure it out and fast.

“Steve!”

McGarrett turned and walked towards his team as Adam, Lou, and Tani approached him. Danny was still at the scene where he dropped his partner off before racing to the hospital.

“Duke spoke to Junior, he was coherent but banged up. Duke doesn’t think it's too bad. I’m waiting on a doctor to hear how they are.” Steve pulled Tani to his chest and hugged her hard.

“And Clay?”

Steve looked over Tani’s head at Adam who’d asked the question. “He was airlifted out before we arrived on the scene.” His phone rang before anyone could respond. “It’s Danny.” He answered the call and placed it on speaker.

“What do you have, Danno?”

_“Found the SUV abandoned in Alakawa Street, at the Home Depot parking lot. CSI is here and working the scene. There’s a few buildings in the area with cameras. I’m going to check it out. Any word on Junior and Clay?”_

“Still waiting to speak to a doctor. I will keep you up to date. If you find anything send it to HQ, Lou and Adam will be there.” Steve looked at his two friends as he spoke to Danny.

 _“Roger that.”_ Danny ended the call.

“You’ll keep us up to date as well?” Lou asked.

Steve nodded. “Will do.” As they walked away he called out to them. “Watch your backs, until we find out what is going on, we all have to be careful.”

They nodded and walked away.

Steve focused on Tani. “You okay?”

She started to nod but then shook her head. “What if?”

“Hey, no what ifs. They made it out alive and they are going to be okay.” Steve hugged the young woman again. “Let’s go and see if we can get some more information.” He guided her towards the information desk.

When they reached the desk, Steve took out his badge and credentials. “We’re looking for information on Junior Reigns and Clay Spenser.”

The nurse on duty took a good look at the credentials before she nodded her head. “I’ll see what I can find out for you, Commander.”

“Thank you.” Steve leaned against the counter and frowned when he saw a male entering the ER. There was something about that man that made Steve take notice. He had on a black hoodie and it was pulled over his face. His hands were in the pockets and he looked down on the floor as he walked deeper into the building.

“Tani.” Steve indicated with his head towards the man. “Does he look suspicious to you, or is it my imagination?”

“Not your imagination, Boss.” Tani straightened out. “Think he’s here to check up on Junior and Clay?”

“Either that, or something else. Whatever it is, it doesn’t feel right.” Steve looked around. “Go around and cut him off, I’ll approach from this side.”

Tani nodded and sprinted off. She kept her hand on the butt of her service pistol as she moved through the people. She heard Steve’s shout and knew their man had run. She rounded the corner and met him face on with her pistol drawn. “On the ground, now!” She shouted. For a moment Tani thought he was going to try and barrel her over and continue to run. But at the last moment he came to a halt, and knelt down and stretched out on the floor.

“Hands behind your head, cross your ankles,” she instructed as she kept her weapon pointed at him. When he obeyed her orders, she holstered her weapon, took out her cuffs and proceeded to cuff his hands. “What’s your name?” She asked as she started to search through his pockets. He remained quiet.

“Don’t be stupid, man. Tell me your name. I will find out either way.” She found his wallet and flipped it open. He had a driver’s license. “Oscar Hemming.” She sighed when she found a P.I. license as well. “Private Eye? What’s your business here at the hospital?”

Tani looked over her shoulder when she heard running footsteps. She passed Hemming’s driver's and P.I. licenses to Steve.

“Who are you looking for?” Steve asked.

“He’s not the chatty short, Boss.” She searched him further and grinned when she found the concealed weapon in an ankle holster. “Look what I found.” She pulled the small revolver out and showed it to Steve.

Steve hummed. “No firearm permit, Oscar, and also no conceal permit.” He hunkered down next to the man’s head. “Either you tell us what you’re doing here, or I haul your ass in for carrying a concealed weapon. Your choice.”

The man sighed. “I’m on the job. I was hired by a client who wanted to find his son.”

“Names.”

“Son is Clay Spenser. According to the dad, Clay has stolen some or other family heirloom to sustain his drug problem. He wanted to get it back before Clay sold it and see if he could talk the son into getting professional help for his addiction, instead of getting the police involved.”

Steve frowned. “Did you have to get the heirloom back?”

“No. I had to find the kid and let the father know where he was. That’s all.”

Steve hauled the man to his feet. “When did you land in Honolulu?”

“This morning just after six.”

“How did you know he was in Hawaii?”

Hemming shrugged. “I’m a P.I., that’s what I do.”

Steve ignored Tani’s snicker. Thomas would’ve given the same answer. “How did you know he was here at the hospital, and if you tell me it’s your job, I will arrest you.”

“I have a continuous run on his name, social number and credit card. I got info that he used his card at a convenience store and then later his social number popped up to show that he was admitted here. I came to see if I could find him.”

Steve’s gut told him that Hemming’s story ran true. Now he only had to convince the man not to tell Clay’s father that he’d found him. But something didn’t add up. Never mind the bullshit story told to the P.I., from what he gathered from both Junior and Clay was that Ash didn’t give a damn about Clay. He had no reason to look for his son. Steve took out his phone and searched for a photo of Ash. He found one very easily. “Is this the guy that hired you?”

Hemming took a look. “Not at all.”

“You sure?”

“Positive. Guy who hired me was well over six foot and huge. He wasn’t so skinny.”

“Any photo of the guy who hired you?”

The P.I. shook his head. “No, we met at a bar in Washington.”

“Have you contacted him and told him you found Clay?” Steve had a bad feeling about this.

“Yeah, I phoned him when the card pinged at the store. Told him the son is here in Hawaii. He sounded surprised.”

“Fuck.” The sinking feeling in Steve’s stomach became worse.

“They were after Clay.” Tani looked at Steve.

“Yeah, they were.” He turned to face Hemming again. “Did you tell him that Clay is here in the hospital?”

Oscar shook his head. “I tried but his phone is dead.”

“I want a number of things from you. One, give me that number,” Steve demanded. “Two, I’ll be sending you with a police officer to HQ. I want you to work with a police sketch artist, to get that man’s face on paper.”

“I don’t have a choice, do I?”

Steve glared at him. “Correct, you don’t.” He took his phone and arranged with Sergeant Lukela for an officer to take Hemming to HQ. Clay was in more danger than what they initially thought. The only problem is that they didn’t know why.


	3. Chapter 3

**Robin’s Nest: Following morning**

Thomas flipped through the manuscript and rolled his eyes a few times. He didn’t like Ashland Spenser’s writing style. The man’s ego overpowered each page. He made sound instead of a whole team of trained men doing what they did best, he was the lone hero of the story.

He growled when Ash indicated he still had a close relationship with the Teams and that he consulted as a technical advisor in some of the missions. Ash continued to say how his _source_ , who was a SEAL (and one he had a close relationship with), went to Saudi Arabia, where they stopped a group of Shiite extremists from releasing anthrax into the water supply.

He included aspects of the mission that would’ve only been known to a handful of people, including the names of General Basara and Ibrahim Antar. Thomas made some notes on the technical aspects Ash mentioned and moved on to the next chapter.

At the end of the manuscript, Thomas had made a list of possible suspects that could’ve supplied Ash with information on Bravo's missions. He would have to run everything through Clay as he had no real names of any of the people involved, but he had no doubt that Clay would be able to supply him with the names he needed.

Thomas grimaced when he read the chapter where a SEAL was gravely injured in an explosion in Manila. It continued to tell the story of how persons responsible for the bombs were apprehended, first in the Philippines, and later in Lahore. “Bingo.”

Thomas tossed the manuscript to the side and got to his feet. He had to contact Steve and then head over to the hospital. Hopefully Clay had woken up and he could talk to the young SEAL. He grabbed his phone from the coffee table and groaned when he realized it was dead. He had no idea when it died. Thomas wanted to kick himself. He’d put it on the charger but didn’t make sure that the phone actually charged.

He checked his watch and cursed. He’d been reading for more than five hours. He didn’t mean to be out of touch and couldn’t help but wonder who was looking for him. With no landline and no other charger with him, he had to go to the main house to see if he could get hold of Steve. Higgy went to the mainland on business for Robin, and he knew Kumu was spending the day with friends. He had the property to himself. The only thing he had to do was to avoid the devils Zeus and Apollo.

Luck seemed to be on his side as he made it unseen to the main house and entered Higgy’s study. With quick fingers, he entered Steve’s number and waited for his partner to answer. Steve’s phone rang twice before the man answered. From his voice alone, Thomas could hear that Steve had not slept.

“How are they?” Thomas asked.

_“Junior will be discharged this morning once the doc looks him over.”_

“And Clay?” Thomas heard Steve sigh before the other man answered.

_“Still unconscious. Grade three concussion, on top of the concussion he sustained when he was attacked. He’s got some brain swelling that they’re keeping an eye on.”_

“Did you stay the night?” Thomas inquired as he searched through the desk drawers in an attempt to find a charger for his phone.

_“Yeah. I didn’t want to leave the kid alone. I’ll get Sergeant Lukela to place an officer on his door today. We need to find the guys responsible for this attack. I also hope that we’ll get some hits through facial recognition on the sketch the P.I. provided.”_

“Send me the sketch as well, I’ll see if I can find something out on my side.” He still had a few contacts in Washington that he could ask a favor or two from.

_“Will do. Did you get the manuscript?”_

“Got couriered early this morning. Went through it, and I wanted to discuss it with Clay. He’ll be able to give me the names of people who worked on the missions with them and who would’ve had access to the info mentioned.” Thomas sighed when Steve remained silent. “You don’t think that’s going to happen?”

_“Not soon.”_

“Shit.” Thomas stood up and paced the room. He came to a halt at the large window and gazed out of the window. “I’ll contact Blackburn again. Maybe he can help.

_“Good idea. See if you can talk to their intelligence officer, Ensign Lisa Davis. From what I heard, she’s good at her job.”_

“I’ll do that. I have to charge my phone and then I’ll head over to HQ if that’s all right with you?”

_“Sounds like a plan. I’ll see you later.”_

Thomas ended the call and grinned when, at last, he found a charger at the back of the drawer. He closed it and then stilled when he heard the soft growls at his back. He bowed his head. It seems like the devils found him. He cursed as he turned and saw the dogs standing between him and the exit. “Nice doggies,” he tried, although he knew it wouldn’t work. When they advanced, he didn’t hesitate to get on top of the desk. He knew they wouldn’t hesitate to follow him, but it made him feel safe, even if it was his imagination.

****

**Every Fandom RB Challenge**

**Five-O HQ**

“Found something!” Adam shouted over his shoulder as the face they’d been looking for appeared on screen.

“What do you have?” Danny asked as he came out of his office.

“Facial recognition came through. The man pretended to be Ash Spenser is Mason Hill. Age fifty-four, born in York, Nebraska. Relocated to Lynchburg, Virginia with his parents at age sixteen. Signed up and joined the Navy shortly after his nineteenth birthday. Completed BUD/s and became a SEAL. Tried for DEVGRU three times, never made the cut. He was part of SEAL team 4. Dishonorable discharge in 2011 after an incident in India. That incident is classified.” Adam rattled the information off as it appeared on the screen.

“What’s his connection with Clay?” Danny inquired.

Adam shook his head. “Nothing I can find so far.”

“Check if he’s got a history with Clay’s father,” Danny instructed.

“On it.” Adam let his fingers glide over the touch screen as he started a search on any connection between the two men.

“Why would he pretend to be Clay’s father to find him?” Adam wondered as he continued to work.

“No idea. But when we do find a link, it’s not going to be a happy one. Either he’s got beef with Clay, or with Clay’s father.” Danny took his phone and texted the information to Steve and Magnum.

“Think I may have something.” Adam brought up another screen. “It’s a military report used in a public inquiry. It’s mostly redacted, but the names of Ashland Spenser and Mason Hill appear on the same page.”

“Forward it to Steve. It’s not much, but it’s something. Maybe Steve can find out more.”

“Done,” Adam reported.

Both men turned when Lou spoke up behind them. The big man walked out of his office with his tablet in hand. “CSI came through on the prints found in the abandoned SUV.” Lou transferred the information to the large screen in the office.

“They managed to find two sets of prints. The first belongs to Keani Ano. He’s got a rap sheet longer than my arm. Including assault and battery, as well as for kidnapping. For the last, he served seven years of a ten-year sentence. He got released from prison on parole just over a month ago. The second set of prints belongs to a guy by the name of Peleke Oliana. Mr. Oliana likes to dabble in B&E, as well as trespassing.”

“They make out strange bedfellows.” Danny turned to Lou. “Are they local?”

The captain nodded. “Yes, they are, and I also thought so. Because of that, I did some digging.” A photo appeared on the big screen. “Meet Keone Ulani. He is Oliana’s cousin and shared a cell with Ano for four years. Mr. Ulani died five months ago when he tried to hold up a bank and got killed for his trouble.”

“And Ano needed an accomplice. When he found out Ulani was dead, he roped the cousin in.” Danny guessed.

“Seems like it,” Lou responded.

“Adam, look for a connection between Hill and Keani Ano, or Keone Ulani,” Danny ordered.

“On it,” Adam responded.

“Get those IDs out to HPD as well as to Steve and Tani.” Danny stared at the screen. “Send them to Magnum as well. He’s got some contacts and since they’re local he might find something out.” Danny looked at his watch. “I’m heading over to the hospital. Keep me in the loop.”

“Will do.” Adam and Lou responded before they turned their attention to the screen to find a connection between the different players.

****

**Every Fandom RB Challenge**

**Honolulu General Hospital**

Steve looked up as the door opened and Danny stepped in. He got up from the hard chair and approached his best friend. He took the offered cup of coffee and sighed as he took the first sip. “Thank you.”

“How’s he doing?” Danny asked as he looked at the young SEAL who lay unconscious in the hospital bed.

“Doctor is of the opinion that Clay is starting to wake up. They’re unsure on how long it still will take but they’re positive that he will be conscious before the end of the day.”

“That’s good news. How’s Junior doing?”

Steve sighed. “He got discharged about an hour ago. I managed to get him to agree to go home with Tani. He feels guilty for what had happened.”

“It wasn’t his fault.” Danny shook his head.

“Junior feels that if he didn’t take Clay out this wouldn’t have happened.”

Danny sighed. “They would’ve tried something else. Maybe even tried getting Clay at Junior’s home.”

“I told him that. I know Tani did as well.”

“It must be a SEAL thing,” Danny remarked.

“What do you mean by that?”

“Just saying, you do the same thing.”

“I don’t.”

“Yeah, you do. Remember that last case when the hostage got injured after that failed holdup at the bank?”

“That was my fault, Danny. I should’ve made sure she knew not to go that way.”

Danny shook his head. “No. All the other freed hostages walked out of the bank and followed the officer. She’s the one who decided to go the other way and fell into the open manhole. That’s on her, no one else.”

Steve wanted to object when a voice sounded up from the door. Both men turned and Steve smiled.

“It wasn’t your fault. She was an idiot.” Thomas entered the room. He shook Danny’s hand and hugged Steve.

“See, I told you.” Danny grinned.

Steve shook his head. “There’s something wrong with your statement, Danno. You said it must be a SEAL thing, Thomas is a SEAL.”

“Yeah, I know.” Danny looked at the two men. He pointed at Magnum. “What about the time he blamed himself for the guy who got stuck in the elevator?”

Thomas laughed. “That was my fault.”

“No, it wasn’t,” Steve responded first.

Danny laughed. “See, you’re both making my point. It’s a SEAL thing to try and take responsibility for something that was out of your control.”

Both men glared at Danny but had to concede. He did have a point. However, they were not prepared to say it out loud. 

“You okay?” Steve asked Thomas.

“Magnum said he would go to HQ to meet up with you. The fact that the two of you didn’t show up together tells me he didn’t get to HQ.” Steve explained to Danny when he saw his friend’s frown.

Thomas blushed faintly. “Yeah. Zeus and Apollo cornered me in Higgins’ study. I had to phone her to call the devils off. She thought it was extremely funny. So when Danny sent the info through to my phone I decided it would be better to come here than go to HQ.”

Both Steve and Danny managed to hide their own smiles.

All three men turned their attention to the bed when the young man moaned softly and moved his legs restlessly before he settled down again. Steve leaned over and squeezed Clay’s shoulder once. “You’re safe,” he whispered before he stepped away again.

“Did you find anything?” Danny asked Thomas.

“Not much, but I spoke to Blackburn. He gave me Ensign Davis’ number. He told me that she would be able to help me with names which we then can compare to the different missions. She was preparing for a mission but will phone me later today when she’s available.”

“Can she be trusted?”

Thomas nodded. “Eric trusts her with his life.”

“I also asked Blackburn about the possible connection between Hill and Ash.”

“And?” Steve inquired.

“Told me he doesn’t know of any, and referred me to Captain Harrington. I tried to get hold of him but unfortunately, he and his team are on a classified mission. I can only hope he’ll get back to me when he gets my message.”

“Okay.” Steve placed the empty coffee cup on the rollaway table. “What about our possible suspects?”

“Still waiting for my contacts to get back to me,” Thomas explained.

“Why does it feel like we’re not moving forward with this case?” Steve asked frustrated. “We need to find out the link between Hill and Ash and Hill and our local goons. The sooner we get something, the sooner we can help, Clay.”

Thomas wanted to respond but his phone rang in his pocket and he plucked it out. “Thomas Magnum,” he answered his phone. “Ensign Davis, thank you so much for coming back to me.” He glanced at Steve and Danny before he exited the room. He already removed the list from his back pocket of names he wanted to run by her.

“Good. Hopefully now we’ll get some answers.” Steve turned towards the bed. “I spoke to Junior, we agreed that it would be safer for Clay to be at my place when he gets released from here.”

“Sounds like a good plan to me. Will Thomas stay over as well?”

Steve grinned. “He’s my boyfriend, Danny, of course he’s going to stay over.”

Danny returned the smile. He loved to pull his partner’s leg. “I need to head back to HQ. Let me know when he wakes up, and how he’s doing.”

“Will do.” Steve hugged Danny and moved back to the hard plastic chair as Danny exited the room. He just sat down when Danny’s and Thomas’ raised voices sounded up in the hallway.

“What the fuck?” Steve jumped up and made his way to the door. He found Danny and Thomas standing shoulder to shoulder facing a group of fierce looking men. The one in the front didn’t need any introduction. He knew without a doubt that the men with Master Chief Hayes were the rest of Bravo team. He also knew that they were here for Clay. The only thing he didn’t know was why?


	4. Chapter 4

“What the hell are you doing here, Master Chief?” McGarrett bellowed as he stepped from the room. He made sure he closed the door behind him as he marched over to where Danny and Thomas still stood in front of what appeared to be one pissed off SEAL.

“What do you think?” Jason Hayes answered without taking his eyes off the two men in front of him. He and the rest of the team had managed to catch a military flight which dropped them at the base. From there, they’d come directly to the hospital. Only to be stopped by a short blond male with a weird haircut and the White Knight, Thomas Magnum, himself.

“I think you’re here to make trouble and that’s not a very good idea.” Steve came to a halt next to Danny.

“We’re here to see our brother. And you ain't gonna stop us.”

“Sonny.” Jason held up his hand.

“Come on, Jase. They can’t stop us. They’ve got no right.” Sonny took a step closer.

Steve looked on as a smaller black male stepped in front of him and placed his hand on his chest. Even though he’s never met the man he knew it had to be Jason’s 2IC, Ray Perry. He was impressed when the large guy’s shoulders slumped and he stepped backwards. Steve watched as Perry made his way over to Hayes and took his spot next to him.

Danny looked up at Steve and sighed. “Let me guess, another bunch of crazy ass SEALs?”

Steve grinned.

“Who’re you calling crazy?” The man identified as Sonny pressed forward.

Both Steve and Thomas moved in front of Danny. Danny merely sighed and squeezed through them. “I did. Being partners with Steve for nine years, working with Junior for three years, and knowing Thomas for two, I know exactly what a crazy ass SEAL is.”

“We’re not crazy, we’re misunderstood.” A voice sounded at the back of the group and a dork barked once as if it agreed.

The statement brought a smile to Steve’s lips. He heard Thomas snort on the other side.

“Well, I’m not here to talk about touchy feeling crap, I’m here to see my brother,” Sonny replied.

“That’s now the same _brother_ you accused of being a traitor, kicked him from the team, and got him nearly beaten to death?”

The group of men turned at the voice that sounded up behind them. Junior stood next to Tani, his hands balled into fists as he glared at them.

“Who the fuck are you?” Sonny sneered.

Junior smiled and shook his head. “Look, Boss, none of them are even trying to deny it. And yet at the same time they demand to see Clay.”

“We didn’t beat him.”

Junior turned and looked at the man who spoke up. He was the leanest of them all, had curly dark hair with hazel green eyes. Next to him sat a Belgian Malinois who looked intently at Junior. By the way the man looked, he identified him as Brock Reynolds and his K9 partner Cerberus. Clay liked the pair a lot. “I said you got him beaten. Not that you did the actual beating yourself. But that doesn’t make a difference does it?”

“We didn’t know.”

Junior smirked and shook his head. “You should’ve.” He sighed. “As for any of you seeing Clay, that answer is no.”

“Once again, who the fuck are you, and who gave you the right to deny us access to our brother?”

Tani placed her hand on Junior’s shoulder to keep him back. She knew he wouldn’t hesitate one second to take the guy with the Texan accent on. Normally she wouldn’t stand in his way but being banged up from the crash and then getting into a fight wasn’t a good idea.

Junior glared at the man. He wanted nothing more than to slam his fist into his face. Sonny Quinn was supposed to be Clay’s best friend. He was the man who became a cornerstone in Clay’s life after Brian died. Clay had told him how the crazy pipe hitter with his crude sense of humor became his first friend on Bravo. He’d told Junior all about the different nicknames Quinn came up with. Sonny sounded like the right man to have Clay’s back until he hadn’t.

“Junior Reigns.” He saw the moment Quinn recognized his name. Sonny wanted to speak up again but Junior continued to talk. “I am Clay’s medical proxy and none of you are allowed to see Clay.”

His statement created an uproar between the men. A shrill whistle made them quiet down. Junior watched as Hayes walked towards him.

“Since when?”

Junior pulled a paper from his pocket. “Since he arrived here on this island three days ago.” He handed it to Hayes.

Jason nodded and handed it back. “How is he?”

“Alive.” Junior knew he was acting callous but he didn’t care. They had hurt Clay.

Sonny growled but Jason held up his hand. “We’re not going anywhere. We will see him.”

Junior shrugged. “Only when Clay wants to see you and at this stage, I wouldn't get my hopes up if I were you.” Junior stepped past the Bravo leader and ignored the rest of the SEAL team. He made his way slowly over to Steve and handed him the form. “The hospital wanted the original so I brought it in.”

Steve nodded as he drew Junior closer and rested their foreheads together. “He’ll be okay.” He looked over Junior’s shoulder as Bravo made their way down the hallway and disappeared around the corner.

“So that was the infamous Bravo team,” Thomas spoke up.

“In the flesh,” Steve responded with a frown. “I thought they were on rotation? How did they end up here?”

Thomas already had his phone to his ear. “I’m calling Blackburn.”

Steve tapped Danny on the shoulder. “Arrange with hospital security to make sure that none of those men set foot in this hospital unless it’s an emergency.”

“Will do.” Danny walked away.

When Junior swayed against him, Steve grabbed his arm. “Steady.”

“Sorry.” Junior dragged his hand over his face.

“I told you not to overdo things,” Tani chastised him as she took him by the arm.

“I didn’t.”

She glared at him. “Let’s get you seated.”

Junior shook his head when she aimed for a plastic chair in the passage. “I’ll sit with Clay.” He didn’t give her a chance to respond but slowly made his way to Clay’s room. He would be at Clay’s side until he woke up. He would make sure Clay knew he wasn’t alone.

****

**Every Fandom RB Challenge**

It was the scent of hospital - sickness and death, covered by industrial strength cleaner that brought him back to the living. Clay groaned, tried to wipe his nose as if he could brush the smell away but instead of his nose, his hand connected with his eye. He moaned in frustration.

“None of that, you’re safe.” A voice spoke to his left and Clay tensed up. He kept his eyes closed as the rest of his senses became accustomed to being awake. The smell and the hard pillow beneath his head, with the scratchy sheets beneath his body, clued him in that he was in the hospital. Clay tried to put together what he could remember but his memories refused to share anything with him that could be helpful.

Rustling to his side made him aware that the male who spoke to him had gotten up and moved around. He used his hearing to follow where the man moved to. When the man moved away from the bed Clay opened his eyes. The unknown man stood with his back to him. He was slim built with short black hair. He had on a pair of jeans and a dress shirt that fitted his body well.

Clay frowned when he noticed the pistol on the man’s hip. He immediately went on high alert and looked for something to defend himself. He spotted the glass jug next to him. He reached out to grab it and groaned when every muscle in his body protested.

“Fuck,” he cursed as he lowered himself slowly.

The man turned around. “You’re awake.”

“Who are you?” Clay questioned.

“Sorry. I’m Adam Noshimuri. I’m part of Five-O.” He removed his credentials from his back pocket and showed it to Clay.

“Hawaii.” Clay groaned. Everything that had happened flashed before his eyes. His head snapped up. “Junior? Is he okay?” He tried to push himself up on his elbows.

Adam stepped closer and gently pushed Clay back down on the bed. “Easy, you’re a bit banged up. Don’t try to move too much.”

“Tell me about Junior,” Clay demanded.

“Some abrasions, bruised ribs, a slight concussion. He’s okay. They discharged him early this morning. He sat with you until about an hour ago when Steve ordered him home. He’s okay, I promise.”

Clay nodded. “Thank you.”

“Would you like some water?” Adam pointed to the same jug Clay considered using as a weapon.

Clay licked his lips. “Please.”

Adam poured the water and handed the glass to Clay. He stood by if Clay needed a hand. Although the young SEAL appeared a bit shaky, he managed to keep the glass steady enough to drink the water before he passed the empty glass back.

“Thank you.” Clay leaned back against the hard pillow. “Did you catch the guys who rammed us?”

“Not yet.” Adam retrieved his tablet. “We got some prints from the SUV and that led us to certain individuals. Do you think you’re up to taking a look at the photos, see if you recognize any of them?”

“Sure.” Clay managed to move his body a bit to get more comfortable.

“Take a look at these photos first.” Adam showed him the photos of Keani Ano and Peleke Oliana. Are either of them known to you, or look familiar?

Clay studied the photos with intention. Finally, he shook his head. “No. I’ve never met or seen them before. Who are they?”

“Their prints were all over the SUV. We’re still looking for them.” Adam explained. He showed Clay another photo. “What about this guy?” Although Keone Ulani died a few months back they had to make sure Clay never had any contact with him.

“No, never seen him before. Is he also involved?” Clay inquired.

“Cousin to this guy.” Adam pointed to Peleke Oliana. “He died a few months back. We’re just covering our basis.”

“I understand.” Clay handed the tablet back.

“There is one other photo I need to show you.” Adam hesitated.

“Who is it?”

Adam dragged the chair he sat on earlier closer and sat down. “When you and Junior were brought into the hospital, Steve and Tani apprehended a person that looked suspicious. They apprehended him and learned that he was a P.I. from Washington. He was hired to find you.”

“Me?” Clay frowned.

Adam nodded.

“Who hired him?”

Adam handed the tablet over to Clay again. “This guy - Mason Hill.”

“I know him.” Clay tapped the screen.

“You do?”

Clay nodded. “Yeah, I’ve seen him at the Bulkhead.” When Adam looked confused Clay explained. “It’s the local watering hole the teams frequent.”

Adam frowned at the information. He never thought that a SEAL that was dishonorably discharged would’ve been welcomed in a bar that got frequented by active SEALs. “You sure it was there?”

Clay shrugged. “Could be somewhere else, but I’ve seen him. How does he fit into this?”

“He hired the P.I.”

“Why?”

“That’s the bit we’re unsure of. He pretended to be your father when he hired the P.I.” Adam explained.

Clay closed his eyes. “Well then at least he’s more concerned about me than my own father. Kudos to him.”

“We think he’s also the man who hired Ano and Oliana.”

“To kill me?”

Adam shook his head. “We don’t know.”

“Then what the hell?” Clay asked frustrated.

“Do you know if there’s any connection between him and your father?”

Clay groaned and closed his eyes. “You’re right. I haven’t seen him at the Bulkhead. It’s all coming back to me now. He was at the same bar I met Ash for drinks. He never approached Ash or myself, but he kept on staring at us. Especially since Ash became louder the more he drank. I assumed Ash's behavior pissed him off.”

“Did you ask your father about him? If he perhaps knew him?”

Clay shook his head. “No. By that time Ash became more erratic as he continued to drink. I just wanted to get out of there.”

Adam nodded. He could understand Clay’s reasoning.

“You think he’s trying to get hold of me to get back at Ash?”

Adam shrugged. “We’re not sure. Either that, or…”

“Or?” Clay closed his eyes. “Or he’s working with Ash and he’s trying to implicate me in more lies so that I lose my commission.” Clay snorted. “I’m already off Bravo, Ash should be happy about that.”

Adam cringed when Clay mentioned Bravo. He wasn’t surprised that Clay noted it.

“What did they do?”

“They’re here.”

“Here, in Hawaii?” Clay frowned. “Why? What more do they want from me? They’ve already kicked me off the team. I’m nothing in their eyes.”

With a sigh Adam started to explain. “It seems that they didn’t know that you were jumped and attacked. They didn’t even know you left Virginia and came here. We’re unsure on how they found out you’re here, but they showed up this morning. According to Commander Blackburn, they all took leave days owed to them. They hopped on a military flight and flew over. They were ready to tear the hospital down to get to you.”

Clay snorted. “Must’ve come here to tell me again how useless I am.”

Adam shook his head. “I don’t think so. I wasn’t here when they arrived but they were not pleased when Junior told them to leave and that they wouldn’t see you unless you wanted to see them.”

For a moment Clay thought that they might have come to support him. But he pushed the idea down. They made it clear what they thought of him. There was no way in hell that they came to Hawaii because they were worried about him.

A scratch at the closed door had both Adam and Clay frowning. Adam rose to his feet and pulled his pistol from his holster. He approached the door and pulled it open slowly. A large dog wiggled through the small opening and with a single leap landed on the bed.

“Cerberus?” Clay grinned. “What are you doing here, boy?” He scratched the dog’s ears and hugged him hard when Cerberus licked his face.

“You know him?” Adam asked as he closed the door after he made sure no one else was outside the room.

“Yeah, it’s our K9 team mate, Cerberus. He’s part of Bravo.”

Adam smiled. “Looks like he likes you.”

Clay smiled. “The feeling is mutual.” He gave the dog a hug and watched as Cerberus turned a few times on the bed before he made himself comfortable and settled down. “I don’t think he’s going anywhere soon.”

“I think you’re right.” Adam shook his head at the dog. “I’m not sure the hospital will be impressed with finding him here.”

“He’s got the ability to disappear when needs be. They won’t find him here.”

“What about his handler, won’t he be looking for him?” Adam wondered.

Clay groaned. He should’ve thought about that. He looked around but couldn’t find his phone. “Do you know where my phone is?”

“Sorry, it didn’t survive the crash.

“Great.” Clay sighed. “Can I use yours? I need to let Brock know where Cerb is before he starts to worry.”

“Sure, here you go.” Adam handed his phone over to Clay.

“Thanks.” Clay quickly sent a text to Brock saying that Cerb was at the hospital and that he was okay.

“How would he have gotten here?” Adam inquired.

Clay smiled. “Cerb is awesome. After I joined the team, Brock started teaching him to search for me. It started out as a game but Cerberus took his job seriously. He always found me. He’s an excellent sniffer dog.”

Adam hummed. “Seems to me just like Bravo, Cerberus is also not prepared to give up on you.”

Adam’s words made Clay think hard. Could they really have come to Hawaii because they cared about him? Or was it another way to make him think they cared just to pull the rug from underneath his feet again. Clay closed his eyes. He had a lot to think about.


	5. Chapter 5

**Steve’s Home**

Thomas closed the door behind him and rested against it for a moment.

“Tough day?” Steve asked as he walked into his living room and saw his lover leaning against the door.

Thomas opened his eyes and frowned at the fact that he didn’t even realize that he’d closed them in the first place. “Had long, frustrating and tiresome conversations with a Navy Ensign and a Navy Captain.”

“Harrington got back to you?” Steve asked as he took Thomas’ hand and pulled him towards the couch.

Thomas hummed in agreement as he sat down. He lowered his head on Steve’s thigh and nearly purred when Steve started to run his hands through his hair.

“What did you find out?”

“Too much for my brain to process, but I managed to wade my way through everything.” Thomas looked up. “I contacted Adam and told him to make sure Clay was not left alone tonight. I also informed Danny about what I found out, he will fill in Lou and the rest of the team. Including Bravo team.”

Steve raised an eyebrow. “You’ve been busy.”

Thomas shrugged. “Have to earn my keep, don’t I?” He grinned when Steve lowered his head and kissed him hard. “You see, that’s what I mean,” he said as they ended the kiss.

“So, don’t keep me in suspense, what did you find?” Steve jabbed Thomas with his finger and grinned when the other man groaned in response.

“Let’s start with Hill and Ash.” Thomas sighed. “They were in the teams at the same time but rarely worked any operations together. That’s because Ash’s team was mainly stationed in the Middle East, while Hill’s team was worldwide. And in the one mission they did serve together, sparks flew.”

“Can I guess? Hill did something that pissed Ash off, or maybe the other way around?” Steve interrupted.

Thomas rolled his eyes. “And by the way, why did I have to talk to Captain Harrington, why didn’t you do it?”

Steve grinned. “I’m the Boss.”

Thomas laughed out loud. “I’ll remember that.” He took a deep breath. “In any case, Hill and Ash’s teams did indeed work together on one mission. The op started out in Prague and ended in India. There was an incident in a hotel which had sparked a public outcry in Prague and that’s how Ash and Hill’s names came to be in a redacted report.”

“Another _fun fact_ on Hill is that he likes his women young, the younger the better. However, he never goes below the age of nineteen.”

“According to him, I assume.”

Thomas nodded. “After they’d wrapped up the op in India, there was some political interference. It meant that the two teams were stuck in India until things could get resolved. After three weeks the men were going stir crazy as they were confined to base. Command decided to let them loose for an evening.”

Steve groaned. “And everything went to hell.”

“Correct. They ended up in one or other establishment that served alcohol and _entertainment_.” Thomas didn’t have to explain what type of entertainment. Steve knew what he was talking about.

“Things got rowdy and some squabbles broke out between some of the SEALs and other patrons. The team leads’ managed to pull their men away from the other patrons. It was decided that they would leave the place and see if they could find another place to drink.”

“Did they?” Steve asked when Thomas kept quiet.

Thomas shook his head. “When they left, Hill’s team lead noticed that he wasn’t with them. Ash was missing as well. Before they could go and look for them, they heard a commotion in a side alley. They went to investigate and found Hill and Ash beating each other up. Clothes were torn, both spotted bloody noses and had bruised bodies. They also found what appeared to be a teenage girl.”

“Fuck,” Steve cursed.

“Indeed. According to the report, Ash found Hill on top of the girl, forcing himself on her. Ash got him off the girl and started to assault Hill. That’s when the teams found them. They separated the two men. When they wanted to make sure the girl was okay, she fled. They tried looking for her, couldn’t find her, and in the end, they returned to base. All the while, Hill continued to plead his innocence. A formal complaint was lodged against Hill.”

“That’s what got him discharged from the Navy,” Steve guessed.

“Correct.”

“He blamed Ash?”

“Yeah. Ash even testified at the hearing.”

“And now Hill is trying to get Ash back by taking it out on Clay.” Steve shook his head. “Cleary, he’s not aware of the strained relationship between Clay and Ash.”

“Not really but I’ll get back to that in a moment.” Thomas moved from Steve’s thigh and sat up straight. “During the inquiry, Hill indicated that it wasn’t him who attacked the girl, but that it was Ash.”

Steve rose to his feet. “Why wasn’t he believed? And what else did you find out?”

“Previous conduct. And the fact that they couldn’t trace the girl to get her side of the story.” Thomas also got to his feet. He started pacing the room. “Captain Harrington couldn’t tell me anymore but I managed to get in contact with an old teammate of Hill. And he told me why Hill is actually looking for Clay.”

“Why?” Steve frowned. He had a feeling he wasn’t going to like this.

“The thing is, Hill always protested his innocence. And about a month back he traced the girl from the alley. I’ve got no idea how, but she confirmed Hill’s version.”

“Why didn’t she say something that night?”

“Her English was almost non-existent. When they approached her, she got scared and that’s when she ran off.”

“How do we know it’s the same girl?”

“Because when Hill traced her, she had a thirteen-year old boy with her. He has blue eyes and blond hair. She is now twenty six-years old.”

“Fuck. She was thirteen?” Steve sat down.

“Turned thirteen a few months later.” Thomas took his seat again. “Hill confronted Ash with this information and Ash laughed it off. However, he refused to submit a DNA sample to see if the kid is his.”

“Because if it turns out he is the father, he can be charged with rape. His whole _image_ will be ruined.” Steve sighed. “So, Hill wants Clay for his DNA?”

Thomas nodded.

“And what about Ano and Oliana?”

“According to the team mate, Hill only appointed the P.I. No one else.”

Steve hummed. “I tend to believe that. That means that they either report to those dickheads who attacked Clay, or to Ash.”

“I’m leaning towards Ash. I don’t know why, but I have a feeling he’s behind this.”

“But what’s his endgame?” Steve shook his head. “We need to find that out.”

“We also need to get hold of Hill.” They were monitoring all incoming flights in the hope to catch sight of Hill should he arrive in Hawaii.

“I agree, but we also need to talk to Clay. We need to tell him this before Hill does.” Steve looked at his watch and grimaced. It was past 22:00 but he didn’t think something like that could wait.

“You want to go now?” Thomas frowned. “It’s a bit late for a hospital visit.”

“I know.” Steve frowned. His gut told him he had to get to the hospital. He always listened to his gut. He wasn’t going to ignore it now.

****

**Every Fandom RB Challenge**

**Honolulu General Hospital**

Cerberus growled deep within his throat as he rose to his feet. The hair on the back of his neck stood up and he bared his teeth at the door.

“What is it, boy?” Clay squinted at the door. He’d managed to convince Adam to take a break and he knew the man went outside to take a smoke break and to get some fresh air. Maybe even score some decent coffee.

Clay looked around and silently cursed. He had no phone and no weapon to defend himself, well except the bedpan. He slowly lowered his feet to the floor and gently got out of the bed. He had to grab hold of the side as the room spun. Clay closed his eyes for a second and when he felt steady, he opened them again.

Cerberus continued growling, but when Clay tried to move towards the door, the dog pushed him back with his large body. “Down, Cerb.” Clay ordered the dog, but Cerberus paid no attention to him. He continued to push Clay back while he growled in his throat.

Clay knew whoever was on the other side of the door wasn't friendly. It definitely wasn’t anyone on Bravo because Cerberus wouldn't have acted in such a manner. He also didn’t think that the dog would react like that towards anyone on the Five-O task force.

Clay looked around the small room again. He could push the call button, but he had no idea if it would scare them off, or if they were brazen enough to harm the nurse that would come and check on him. He also had no idea on how many of them were outside the door.

Clay knew that if they opened the door, Cerberus wouldn't hesitate to attack. It would mean that there would be no one else to worry about, or he’d have to take on at least one other person, or even more.

A shadow passed in front of the door. Cerberus growled again and pushed Clay towards the small bathroom on the side. Thinking of the bathroom gave him an idea. He snatched the pillow from the bed and stripped it from the casing. He took it and as quickly as possible he moved to the bathroom. He took the bar of soap and tossed it into the pillow case. He swung the casing around so that it twisted in a long thick strip of material with the soap bar at the end. It was the perfect sap weapon.

Clay took his stand next to the door. He watched as the shadow passed again, came back and halted in front of the door. Cerberus growled again. The doorknob turned slowly and it swung open. A hooded figure entered. Clay swung his self-made sap as Cerb leaped forward.

The Malinois sank its teeth deep into the man’s arm as Clay hit him across the face. By the crunching sound Clay knew he broke the man’s nose. The figure screamed out in pain from the dog bite and the hit to the nose. Chaos erupted.

The figure started to fight back. Clay saw him lifting his arm. He could clearly see the outline of a pistol in the man’s hand. The man bent his arm and pointed the weapon at Cerb.

“NO!” Clay screamed as he yanked the figure away from Cerb. The shot echoed through the small room as the two men fell to the floor. Both men struggled over the gun. Clay knew he had to get control over the weapon if he wanted to survive this encounter.

A fist connected to his solar plexus and robbed him of the ability to breath. The second hit connected to the side of his head and made him see some stars. Clay managed to get his hands on the man’s wrist and with all his strength he yanked it the wrong way. The angle he had wasn’t good enough to break the bone, but the pressure was enough to make the man yelp in pain.

It bothered Clay that he didn’t hear Cerberus anymore. Since the gunshot went off, Cerberus had been absent from the fight. If Cerb was killed he would tear the man apart with his bare hands.

The next punch connected with his jaw. His teeth rattled at the impact and blood filled his mouth as his teeth sliced the inside of his cheek. Clay lifted his head from the floor and head butted the assailant on his already busted nose. The man fell backwards and grabbed hold of his nose. It gave Clay the opportunity he needed to gain control over the weapon. Without hesitating Clay pulled the trigger. Things slowed down and Clay watched in slow motion as his attacker stumbled backwards. His knees gave way and he tumbled to the floor. Clay kept the weapon trained on him as he tried to get his breathing under control. His hands shook violently and the pistol felt as if it weighed at least a ton. Even with him lying on his back, a wave of dizziness came over him and Clay closed his eyes in an attempt not to pass out.

A commotion at the door made him open his eyes. This time the pistol was steady in his hand. Several people tried to barge in. “Stay back!” Clay shouted. He wouldn’t let anyone in. Not until he has established that they meant him or Cerberus no harm. Thinking of the dog made him turn his head.

Cerberus laid on his side, his eyes closed and he was covered in blood. “Cerb?” Clay whispered. His voice sounded strange to his ears. People at his back moved and Clay jerked his head back to face them. “Stay the fuck back,” he hissed and pointed the weapon at them. They looked alarmed and moved back. More voices joined those who gathered outside. Clay ignored it all as he focused his attention back on the dog. Slowly he shifted towards Cerberus.

Clay’s hands trembled as he reached out and gently placed his hand on Cerberus’ chest. “Cerb?” He called the dog again and received no response. Clay’s breath hitched as he lowered his head to Cerberus’ chest. “Please, don’t die. Please,” he pleaded as he fisted the soft fur in his hand. “Please, please.”

A soft whimper reached his ears and Clay felt the movement beneath him. He lifted his head and smiled as Cerberus looked at him. “You’re going to be okay. You’re going to be okay.” Seeing Cerberus blinking at him made him act. He carefully felt through the thick coat in an attempt to find where the blood came from. His breath hitched again as he discovered no fresh blood.

“It’s not your blood is it, buddy?” Clay said relieved. “You must’ve hit your head and that knocked you out,” Clay continued to talk as he ran his hands over Cerberus’ head. He winced when he found a nasty bump. “I’m so sorry. You’re going to be okay. I promise.” Clay’s body gave in and he laid down on the floor and pressed his face in the dog’s coat and sobbed.

Raised voices outside the room filtered through but Clay ignored them. His body ached, not only from this latest altercation but from the accident earlier and the beating he took back in Virginia as well. His soul was bruised. His whole world turned on its head and where he thought he had finally found his family he was proven wrong. His heart ached at the thought that Cerb could’ve died because of him. Bravo will never forgive him now. He knew the last bit of connection he had with this team would be ripped away from him the moment they learned what had happened here.

“Spenser, Clay?” Someone called out to him but he ignored them.

“Spenser?” A figure appeared next to him.

Clay kept his head bowed. All the anger he had in him disappeared. He watched as a hand settled over his, and gently removed the pistol he held. He followed the hand until it moved out of sight. It didn’t stay away long but reappeared, this time empty as it settled down again. The fingers squeezed his. Clay’s own fingers curled inwards.

“Would you mind if I had a look at Cerberus and you?”

Clay frowned. He should know the voice just as he should know to whom the hand belonged to. But his mind was blank. He wasn’t even sure what the sum was of two and two.

“Clay?” The voice spoke up again.

He was asked a question and he should respond. He had no idea what the answer should be. “Yes?” Clay hoped it was the correct response. A chuckle reached his ears. It didn’t sound cruel. He slowly lifted his eyes. A lean face with a busy brown mustache and beard with kind and warm hazel eyes stared back at him. He knew this man but at the same time he had no idea who it was.

“Are you okay?”

This time he nodded.

“Good.”

Clay watched as the hand on top of his moved off, and stroked Cerberus. The dog’s tail thumped on the ground. “He hit his head. The blood isn’t his.” Clay lowered his eyes. “I’m sorry.”

“You’ve got nothing to be sorry about, Clay.” The voice remained calm.

“They’re going to hate me,” Clay whispered. The hand was back on his and squeezed it hard.

“Never, Clay.”

The hand remained on his. It gave him comfort. “You’re right. They already hate me. This will just be another nail in my own coffin.” Angry voices sounded at his back. Clay cringed. Someone spoke sternly and the voices quieted down.

“Can you look at me, please?” The voice asked softly.

Slowly Clay lifted his head. He first looked at Cerberus as the dog continued to wag his tail and then he let his gaze settle on the man right next to him.

“No one hates you, I promise.”

Clay remained silent. To object wouldn’t help. He knew they hated them. He felt it in his heart. He turned as Cerberus whimpered and managed a small smile when the dog reached out and licked him across his face. “You should take Cerberus and make sure he’s okay.”

“I’ve already checked him out. Except for the bump on his head, he’s good. I’m more worried about you.”

“I’m fine.” Clay moved from where he was still laying on the cold floor to sit up straight. His muscles protested and he groaned. The moment he sat up, the room started to spin and he closed his eyes.

“Where the hell is that blood coming from!” Someone bellowed.

Different hands reached out, Clay tried to slap them away but was unsuccessful in his attempts. Hands guided him down. Someone pressed down hard on his side. Someone else screamed in pain. Clay thought it might be him but he was unsure. He attempted to move away from the noise while he looked around for Cerberus. Clay panicked when he couldn’t find the dog and everything became too much. He was swallowed up and found silence.


	6. Chapter 6

**Honolulu General Hospital: 2 Days later**

Junior looked up as the door to Clay’s room opened up. He smiled when Cerberus and Brock entered. He rolled his eyes as the Malinois ignored him and made a beeline for Clay’s bed. With a single leap he landed next to Clay and made himself comfortable at the young man’s feet.

“Sorry.” Brock shrugged.

Junior smiled. “No need to be sorry. It’s clear that the two of them have a very special bond.”

Brock nodded. “Cerb accepted Clay even before the first day of him being our rookie was over. They are always together.”

“Clay never had any pets growing up.” Junior sounded pensive.

“I gathered that much when he came to me and asked me some questions,” Brock responded.

The two men settled in silence and watched on as both dog and human continued to sleep on. The incidents of two days back were still fresh in their minds. After Brock managed to approach Clay and they found that the young man had been shot, Bravo team had nearly lost it. Junior arrived at the hospital shortly after the incident. He'd seen firsthand how a group of five large men cleared a room and rendered first aid to Clay before any nurse or doctor could react. They had their youngest teammate in the OR in under three minutes. From there they returned to Clay’s room and stayed out of the way when Steve and the team investigated the scene. They refused to leave.

Adam had identified the body in Clay’s room as Peleke Oliana. Keani Ano was still in the wind, but Junior knew it wouldn’t be long before they had the fugitive in custody.

When Junior saw how committed Bravo was towards Clay, he’d decided to talk to them. He’d approached Brock first and instantly liked the curly haired man. Brock didn’t say much. But when he did talk, his teammates listened. It also meant that Junior listened. He heard how they knew they’d done wrong. That they’d alienated Clay instead of siding with him. Junior learned that they were ordered to stay away, and when they pushed as a unit, they were threatened with their careers.

They didn’t know about Clay’s attack. And when they found out, they found the culprits and did something Junior had a hard time believing. But he'd followed it up, and found it to be true. They had handed the guilty parties over to NCIS without dishing out their own punishment. They then made sure that each man that took part in that attack got their tridents removed. They might still be in the Navy (for the time being) but they will never be SEALs again.

It impressed him that Bravo did all that without knowing their upper brass knew Clay was innocent and that they were using Clay in an attempt to flush out the guilty party. He approached Steve and Thomas and after he spoke to the two retired SEALs, he approached Bravo and told them what they had learned.

Sonny and Jason had exploded. Ray and Trent went deadly quiet while Brock was the one who asked questions. It was Junior’s opinion that the dog handler would make a brilliant attorney. After that, the group of men sat down and they all went through Ash’s manuscript. Between the information Ensign Davis gave them, and their input, they had narrowed their list of possible suspects down to one man. Matt Evans was on the same Green team as Clay but didn’t make and got voted out first. He went to Team 2 and in the last year he got a spot on Bravo’s support team. How he’d managed that was still unsure.

Thomas called in Higgins’ help and the two of them were now tying the noose around Evans’ neck. They were also still looking for evidence on how Ash and Evans met and communicated. Junior knew it wouldn’t be long before they had what they were looking for.

“Did you talk to the doctor this morning?” Brock broke the silence.

Junior nodded. “He is satisfied with Clay’s progress.”

“And the fact that he is still unconscious?”

“Doctor said Clay’s body was overloaded with trauma. By remaining unconscious Clay’s body is getting the rest it needs. He said we must all be patient,” Junior explained.

“That’s easy for him to say,” Brock mumbled.

Junior nodded in agreement. He wanted nothing more than Clay waking up and being okay. He still can’t believe that the wound Clay sustained caused so little damage. It missed Clay’s vital organs even though it bounced around in Clay’s body before it exited. “Have you decided what you’re going to do?”

Brock nodded. “We’re going to grovel and grovel some more for forgiveness. We know we’ve lost his trust and that’s not something that can be restored within a couple of hours, or even a couple of days for that matter. But we are prepared to do everything in our power to make sure that Clay knows that he can trust us and that we have his back.”

“And if he decides to leave Bravo?”

Brock blanched. “Did he say that?”

“No, he did not. But that is an option.”

“We know, and if we want to show him that we trust him, we’ll let him go.” Brock shifted his gaze to where Clay still slept. “But we will make sure that wherever he goes that he knows we will be there for him.”

“He couldn’t stop talking about you guys.” Junior got to his feet. “After Brian died, I was worried. I contacted Master Chief Seaver and made him promise me he’d look out for Clay.” Junior grinned. “I thought Seaver was going to kill me for demanding such a thing. In the end he did more than promised. He told me Bravo would also look out for Clay.”

Brock smiled. “Adam knew even before we did that Clay would land up with us.”

Junior wanted to respond but Cerberus whined from the bed and the two men quickly made their way over. Junior reached out and squeezed Clay’s shoulder when he saw Clay appeared restless. “It’s okay, you’re safe.” He repeated the words as Clay frowned and made some distressed noises.

Both men continued to look on as Clay continued to be restless. Cerberus had crawled up and had made himself comfortable on Clay’s chest but it had little to no effect in getting Clay to calm down.

Brock frowned when the different monitors started wailing their displeasure as Clay’s BP and heart rate continued to rise. “Come on, Kid, don’t do this to yourself. You’re safe, no one is going to hurt you.” Brock tried again. His heart ached when Clay whimpered out loud. “Come on, Clay, wake up.” He tried a bit more forcefully but it didn't help.

The door to Clay’s room opened and both men turned.

“Boss,” Brock pleaded.

Jason took in the scene before him and then he moved. He grasped Clay’s hand in his and lowered his head to Clay’s ear. He started whispering as he squeezed Clay’s hand the whole time. Slowly Clay’s breathing deepened and his heart rate and BP stabilized. Jason continued to hold onto Clay’s hand until he was satisfied that Clay had calmed down and was sleeping peacefully. “We’ve got your six, Clay,” Jason repeated one last time.

“You really have a knack with him,” Junior observed.

Jason nodded. The first time he had calmed Clay down in this manner was after the bombing in Manila. He’d clasped Clay’s hand the whole time to the hospital, whispering in his ear that he would be okay.

Knowing that Jason would not offer up anything else Brock spoke up. “Did you find something, Boss?”

“Yeah.” Jason moved and leaned against the window. “Magnum and Higgins found Hill.”

“Where?” Junior demanded.

Jason shrugged. “Not entirely sure, but that’s not the problem. Hill is dead.”

“What! Where?” Junior and Brock shouted.

“What happened, Jase?”

“Higgins got contacted by a source in Virginia who had info on Hill. She and Magnum left on the red-eye last night. They went to the address given to them and found Hill dead. He was severely beaten and then shot execution style. Time of death appears to be before Hemming phoned him with the info on Clay.”

Junior groaned. “And when the P.I. did contact Hill, he spoke to Ash.”

Jason hummed in agreement. “That’s what McGarrett feels happened. And when Ash learned that Clay was here in Hawaii, he reached and got the names of Keani Ano and Peleke Oliana. He must’ve instructed them to take Clay out as he knew he couldn’t set foot in Hawaii.”

“Any evidence that links him to Hill’s death?” Junior asked.

“NCIS is investigating the matter.” He didn’t have much hope that they would find something.

“If Ash is involved, Higgins and Thomas will find out,” Junior responded.

Jason raised an eyebrow. “You seem very sure of that.”

“Higgins has some kick-ass contacts. And Thomas - well, he’s the best P.I. on this island.”

Jason grunted.

“Are we now saying that Ash hired Ano and Oliana to take out Clay?” Brock asked.

“I would say that’s a fair assessment.” Junior paced the room. “With Hill dead, Ash will feel that no one will go and look into a possible story of him raping a child and being the father of a thirteen-year old boy.”

“And he takes out Clay so that Clay’s DNA can’t be used in a familial match to implicate Ash as being that boy’s father,” Jason commented.

“He’s one cruel fucking bastard,” Brock hissed.

“I’ve got a half-brother?”

Jason closed his eyes when he heard Clay’s voice. He didn’t want the young man to find out about this in such a way.

****

**Every Fandom RB Challenge**

**Five-O HQ**

Lou and Adam looked up when the doors at the end of the corridor opened. They watched as Steve and Danny walked towards them.

“Did you find anything?” Lou asked first.

Danny nodded. “Found a lead on where Ano might be which we followed up on.”

Adam frowned. “Nothing?”

“No, not nothing,” Danny explained. “Spoke to someone who said that Ano went to the docks this morning.”

“He got on a boat?” Lou groaned.

“Yeah, but we know which boat.” Steve started typing and a photo appeared on screen. “This is the Moana Ali’i. She belongs to Kimo Hoke who’s been trawling for almost four decades.”

“And how does Captain Hoke know our fugitive?” Adam inquired.

“Hoke is Ano’s godfather. From what we gathered is that he’s been trying to keep the young man on the straight and narrow but not with much luck,” Danny said. They were all aware of Ano’s long list of priors.

“Are we saying that the Captain will not help Ano to disappear?” Lou asked skeptically.

“Doesn’t seem like it. We’ve asked the Coast Guard to make contact with the Moana Ali’i under a false lure to see if we can find Ano. They will keep us informed.” Steve turned and faced his team mates. “We also finally found a connection between Ash and Ulani.”

“Ulani?” Adam frowned. “Keone Ulani, Oliana’s dead cousin?”

“Correct. We looked for a connection between Hill, Ano and Ulani, but never looked for one between Ash and Ano, or Ulani.”

“What’s the connection?” Lou frowned.

“Ash delivered keynote addresses all over the country as part of some sort of reintegration program for inmates. Supposedly it formed part of his own _‘give back to the community’_ project. Keone Ulani attended such a program through HOPE Probation - Hawaii’s Opportunity Probation with Enforcement a few months before he was released. It seems like he and Ash hit it right off.” Steve brought up a newspaper article which included a photo of Ash and Ulani shaking hands.

“Well, I’ll be damned.” Lou shook his head. “I’ll bet you a dollar that Ulani spoke to Oliana about Ash. And when Ash contacted Ulani and found out he died, he convinced Oliana to help him out with a small problem.”

“I’m not going to bet against the house,” Danny answered.

“Do we have any evidence of any communication between Oliana and Ash?” Lou inquired.

“Not yet. Since Oliana’s body had no phone on it, we’re assuming Ano has his friend’s phone. If we can find that phone, we’ll find text messages, or even phone calls between Ash and Oliana,” Steve said with confidence.

“Do you think Ano might’ve phoned Ash and told him that Oliana is dead?” Adam wondered.

“We’re hoping for that. We’re also hoping that Ash might decide to come to Hawaii himself since he might feel that he has to take care of this problem himself.”

Adam’s eyes grew large. “You think he’ll be callous enough to come and kill his own son?”

“Ash Spenser is a narcissistic son of a bitch. It’s all about him. He will do everything in his power to make sure his image stays untarnished.”

Adam blanched. “Was he a sniper?”

Steve shook his head. “No, but he was a good shot. He also knows a lot about explosives.” Steve saw the look of worry on his teammates’ faces. “Cerberus is trained in detecting explosives. Between him, and the rest of Bravo, they will keep Clay safe.”

“Is Clay on board with this?” Adam asked.

Steve shrugged. “I know Junior is with Brock and Jason at the hospital right now. We can only hope for the best.”

“When is Clay getting discharged?” Lou wanted to know.

“More importantly, where is he going to stay? Junior’s place is not big enough for that group of men,” Adam inquired.

“As far as I know Clay’s doctor wants to keep him at least another twenty-four hours. As for where Clay is going to stay; Higgins offered Robin's nest up for the team. It’s big enough for them, the security is great and it’s private,” Steve answered the questions.

“Sounds like a good idea to me,” Adam said relieved. Now they only had to find Ano and get Ash before he got to Clay.

****

**Every Fandom RB Challenge**

**Steve’s Home**

When his front door swung open, Steve opened one eye and looked bleary at the figure he stepped inside. He swung his feet from the couch and leaned back. “Hi,” he greeted Thomas with a grin.

“Hey, yourself.” Thomas tossed his jacket and keys to the side and sauntered over to his lover. “I thought you’d be in bed by now.” He leaned in and kissed Steve sweetly on the lips.

“Mmm, decided to wait up for you,” Steve answered as he pulled Thomas on top of him. “Yeah? Figured on getting lucky, perhaps?” Thomas grinned.

“I’m already lucky.” Steve snorted. “You make me sound like a sap.”

“You are a sap.” Thomas kissed Steve again. The two men continued to touch and kiss for a few minutes before Thomas moved off Steve and made himself comfortable next to the other man.

“Did you find out anything?” Steve asked as Thomas lowered his head on his thigh.

“We found the motherload.” Thomas gazed up. “Matt Evans was never supposed to be a SEAL. I don’t know how he got through BUDs.”

“You located Evans?” Steve asked, surprised.

Thomas nodded. “And he had no problem talking. Especially when he realized we want to implicate him in Hill’s murder.”

Steve’s eyes grew large. “What did you find?”

“On the night Evans got kicked off Green team, he went to get drunk. And he did get piss-drunk. But he also ran into Ashland Spenser and according to Evans, the man listened to him, gave him some solid advice, and became a good friend.”

“At what price?” Steve frowned.

Thomas huffed. “No price. They found they had a lot in common, including hating Clay. Evans said that on more than one occasion Ash wished that Matt was his son instead of Clay. Then Ash started to write his new book, but his editing team wasn’t impressed with the first draft as they felt it was a rehash of the first book. At that stage, Evans landed on Bravo’s support team and he willingly shared all the classified information with Ash. Both men knew that Clay would get blamed, and if Clay got kicked out of the teams, neither of them would be saddened by it.”

Steve shook his head. “What else?”

“Evans indicated that a few weeks back Ash became agitated, downright nasty. He even slugged Evans out of anger. Evans said he tried to find out what was wrong, but Ash was tight-lipped. Then Hill showed up at Ash’s house and the two men got into a fight. A fight bad enough that Evans had to pull them apart as he worried they might kill one another. In fact, Evans said Ash told Hill that he will kill him.”

“Let me guess, he added that to save his own hide?”

“NCIS is still investigating, but Hill’s time of death, places Evans in TOC where he and Ensign Davis, assisted in a mission for Alpha team.”

“Does he know where Ash is?” Steve asked.

Thomas shook his head. “He indicated that the last time he saw Ash was when he and Hill went at one another.”

“Do we believe him?”

Thomas shrugged. “I tend to. But NCIS will figure that out. For us, it’s one less issue to deal with.”

“Did you inform Blackburn?”

“Captain Harrington was present when NCIS interrogated Evans. He said he’ll make sure that the higher-ups get the information ASAP.”

Steve rolled his eyes. “And at what price to Clay? There are those who're going to say that Evans became the scapegoat because Clay is Ash’s kid.”

“And I’ve got a feeling Bravo team will single handed snap each of their necks should they get to hear about it.”

Steve grinned. “You spoke to Junior.”

Thomas returned the smile. “Seems like the team has gone all papa-bear on Clay.”

“Clay still has some way to go before he will trust them again. I have a feeling they will not give up on making sure he knows they will always have his back.”

“As it should be.” Thomas moved from where he lay on the couch and straddled Steve’s hips. “Want to make sure you’ve got my back?” He said with a cheesy grin.

Steve laughed out loud. “That’s so bad. Luckily for you, I love you.” He leaned forward and caught Thomas’ mouth in a hard kiss before he got to his feet and guided his lover up the stairs and into their bed.


	7. Chapter 7

**Robin’s Nest: 3 Days later**

Magnum watched as Jason spotted Sonny, while Ray did the same for Trent. He didn’t see Brock anywhere and assumed that he and Cerberus were out playing on the beach. It suited him fine because it meant the devils from hell were also on the beach.

Thomas grinned as he thought back on the look on Higgins’ face when she came home and found Zeus and Apollo sprawled over Brock. He had a feeling she’d fallen in love right there and then with Brock. He knew for a fact he himself did, and he’d also told Steve about it. That man was a god with the dogs to such an extent that Zeus and Apollo were even more tolerant towards him.

“Davis is on the SAT phone for you, Hayes.” Magnum held out the phone.

“Thanks,” Jason stepped away and took the offered phone.

Sonny sat up on the weight bench and Trent also stopped doing bench presses. They all watched as Jason talked to Davis.

“Do you know what it’s about?” Sonny asked Ray.

Ray shook his head. He looked up when Jason’s voice echoed through the room. “That doesn’t bode well.” Ray stepped away from the weight bench and made his way over to where Jason stood. “What’s going on?” He asked as Jason ended the call and tossed the phone to the side.

“Where’s Clay?” Jason ignored Ray’s question. He looked at the men in the room.

“In the guest house, with Junior and Tani.” Magnum responded. “Why?”

“Davis received intel that Ash has left the mainland.”

“Fuck,” Sonny cursed. He grabbed his cap and ran towards the gym’s exit. The others followed him. The gym was on the opposite side of the grounds, at least a ten minute walk away from Thomas’ guest house.

Thomas took his cell phone and called Junior’s number. He frowned when the call didn’t go through. He looked at the screen and saw that he had no signal. He gave a step forward to grab the SAT phone, but cursed as the gym’s lights went off. Darkness surrounded him. As he looked out of the window, he realized that none of the lights on the property worked. “Seems like we’ve got company,” Thomas said to himself as he reached for his pistol tucked into the back of his trousers. He would’ve loved to have a pair of NVGs but luckily he knew every inch of this property like the back of his hand. Thomas mentally counted the time off for the backup generators to kick in. When that didn’t happen, he knew he had to get to them. He trusted Bravo would keep Clay safe. He wished Steve was here, but his lover and Danny were at HQ questioning Keani Ano. They had finally taken custody of him after his godfather convinced him to hand himself over.

SAT phone forgotten Thomas made his way out of the gym and headed towards the back to the old bomb shelter where the generators were housed. He had to tread carefully, the vegetation was overgrown and he didn’t want to face plant should his foot get caught on one of the many vines.

A sound to his left made him twirl around. The swing came out of nowhere and Magnum couldn’t duck in time as it struck him on the temple and brought him down. The man bent down and dragged the unconscious Magnum deeper into the vegetation where he bound his hands and feet together before he moved on.

****

**Every Fandom RB Challenge**

Junior scowled as Clay once again removed the sling from his arm. “That thing is supposed to stay on your arm for the next couple of weeks.”

Clay pouted. “It’s itchy.”

Junior shook his head. “You really are like Steve, you know that.”

“What?” Clay asked innocently.

Junior threw his hands in the air. “I’m calling Trent, at least he can get you to wear the damn thing.” He’d got to know the medic better and loved his no-nonsense way of doing things. Trent had this way of looking at his teammates and they would immediately do what he told them to do - even the stubborn Clay.

“No, come on, Jun’s. That’s really not necessary.” Clay reached for the sling he’d just removed from his shoulder. He looked over at Tani when she snickered. “Traitor,” he mumbled as he struggled with the sling.

Tani laughed out loud as she approached Clay. “Want some help there, GQ?”

Junior laughed as Clay groaned.

“You’ve spent too much time in Sonny’s company,” Clay accused her with a smile. He and the team had talked again. He had a feeling a few psychologists would be doing some backward somersaults if they saw them all together talking to one another. But things got said. The air got cleared and although it was still early days, Clay had a feeling they would restore their bond and become brothers again. It was because he wanted to give them another chance, that he agreed that they could stay. He missed having them around. Clay held still as she gently guided his arm into the sling and then fastened it behind his neck.

“Thanks.”

Tani nodded. “Any time.” She squeezed his arm softly. “You okay? You look tired.”

Clay sighed. “I’m okay. This thing with Ash is giving me sleepless nights.” He looked at his two friends.

“It’s understandable. Hopefully now that we’ve got Ano in custody, we’ll locate Ash and this nightmare of yours can come to an end.” Junior took his seat on the couch and pulled Tani down next to him.

“I know Ash. It won’t be that easy.” Clay dragged his hand across his face. “I…” He stopped talking when the house went dark.

Tani groaned. “No ghost stories from you.” She punched Junior on his thigh as she reached for her phone.

Junior laughed. “Still can’t believe how high you jumped when I told that lame story.”

Tani grumbled.

“Shouldn’t the generators have kicked in by now?” Clay asked, concerned. His words made them all become serious.

“Where’s your pistol, Tani?” Junior asked as he reached for his which he’d placed on the coffee table.

“In my bag in the kitchen.”

“Stay low and get it.” Junior silently moved towards Clay. “Let’s get you in the bedroom.”

“I’m not hiding,” Clay hissed. “I can take care of myself.”

“And I’m not having an argument with you right now. Get into the bedroom and stay there,” Junior hissed back.

Gunshots from the grounds made them duck for cover before Clay scrambled towards the front door.

“Where the fuck are you going!” Junior yanked him back. He didn’t even apologize as he heard Clay groan in pain.

“I’m having my team’s back.” Clay struggled to get loose.

“Damn it, Clay. You can’t go out there,” Junior tried to argue.

“You’re not stopping me.” Clay pushed Junior back.

“You’re not even armed.” Junior tried to keep calm.

“Then give me your fucking pistol,” Clay snapped. He couldn’t believe that he didn’t have his own weapon. If anyone thought he was going to stay on the sidelines, while his brothers might be in danger, they had it wrong.

More shots echoed through the darkness. They heard a dog growl and bark. Another shot sounded and the dog yelped.

“I can’t get a signal.” Tani crawled towards them with her phone in her hand.

“Ash and his fucking jammers.”

“He’s not alone.” Junior handed his weapon over to Clay and pulled his backup weapon from his ankle holster.

“He knows how to rally the troops,” Clay responded sarcastically as he loosened the sling and tossed it to the side.

“We need to let Steve know what’s going on,” Tani spoke up.

“There’s a SAT phone in Higgins’ study,” Junior said.

“We need to get to it,” Clay responded.

Tani checked her own weapon. “I’ll head to the generators and see if I can find out what they did to them. The sooner we can get the lights back on, the better.”

“Keep safe.” Junior pulled Tani close and kissed her full on the mouth. The two men watched on as she slipped out of the door and disappeared into the darkness.

As she disappeared Junior and Clay made their way out of the guesthouse and moved in silence towards the main house. Clay took point and Junior followed on his heels. They’d covered about a third of the distance before Clay hunkered down and raised his fist. He pointed towards his left.

Junior looked in that direction and noticed the two shadows moving towards them. Although he couldn’t distinguish their features, he was sure that neither of them was from Bravo. With a few hand signals the two men split up and went after the two figures from different directions.

Clay took his target down silently. The chokehold had the man out for the count within seconds. He dragged the man behind the building and ripped off the balaclava that covered his face. It was an unknown man. Two shots in quick succession made Clay duck as he kept his weapon at a ready. He heard what sounded like a thud before things quiet down.

“Junior?” Clay whispered.

“Here.” Junior appeared from the shadows.

“You okay?” Clay inquired.

“Yeah, just a flesh wound. The bastard was quick on the draw.” Junior looked down at the blood that trickled from his bicep. “I’ll survive.”

Clay rolled his eyes. “You better.” They stayed crouched down as Junior took care of his arm. “Did you recognize your guy?”

Junior moaned quietly as he tightened the makeshift bandage around his arm. “No, I've not seen him before. But he didn’t look local.”

“Think Ash might have brought muscle from the mainland over to help him out,” Clay said.

More shots brought an end to their conversation. “We need to get moving,” Clay sounded alarmed.

“Your team can take care of themselves, Clay. We will help them, but we still need to make sure we keep our eyes open. Ash will not hesitate to shoot first.” Junior reminded his friend.

“I know, I know,” Clay repeated his words.

“Good. Head on a swivel, let’s get going.” Junior slapped Clay on the shoulder as the two men moved on.

Shots to their left had them changing direction. Both men recognized the sound of an AK-47 and the return fire of a Glock 19.

“Just how many fucking assholes did he bring with him,” Clay mumbled as they rounded a corner and came to the back of three unknown men.

“Five-O!” Junior shouted the warning.

Both of them jumped for cover as the three men opened fire.

Without hesitation they returned fire. Junior and Clay were the better shooters and took the gunmen out in seconds. They carefully approached the fallen men, removed their weapons and took a look under their balaclavas. Once again, they were unknown. Leaving the fallen bodies behind they moved on. It bothered Clay that they haven’t come across any of his brothers.

Finally, they reached the main house. The large French doors stood wide open and a soft breeze blew gently through the large space. The two friends moved quickly through the house and cleared each room as they went along.

They soon found the house to be empty and they also couldn’t find the SAT phone. Both men hoped that either Thomas had the phone, or that someone from Bravo had it, and had called for backup.

“Where the hell are they?” Junior sounded frustrated.

“The guest house.” Clay wanted to slap himself against the head. He should’ve known Bravo would’ve made their way to where he had been last.

“I told you to stay put.” Junior had no doubt that Bravo was going to kick his ass for not keeping Clay in the guest house. He should’ve tied Clay up and pushed him into a wardrobe to keep him there.

“We can argue about that later. We need to find Ash.” Clay had a feeling that Ash might be following Bravo in an attempt to get to him. They were placing their lives in danger because of him.

“Let’s go.” Junior took point as they made their way out of the house and back to the guest house. As he rounded a corner a figure stepped out of the shadows. Junior raised his weapon but was too slow. His body felt the pain even before his brain deciphered the sound. He heard Clay’s scream of anguish behind him and frowned. As Junior turned, his legs gave way and he tumbled to the ground.

“Hello, Clay.” Ash grinned from ear to ear as he pointed the HK45C pistol at his son.

****

**Every Fandom RB Challenge**

Tani made her way as quickly as possible to the old bunker. She had come across two men who’d she took care of silently. They were both hogtied and dragged deeper out of sight. She’d concealed their assault weapons as well and would retrieve them when this mess was sorted out. A rustling of leaves to her left made her crouch down. The sound continued but nothing appeared. Weary that it might be a trap, but knowing that she had to investigate she made her way over.

“Thomas!” Tani exclaimed as she found the P.I. rolling around in the dense undergrowth. “Wait, let me help.” She placed her hand on his shoulder to still him before she quickly undid the bindings.

“Are you okay?” She asked as she helped him to sit up.

“Yeah, I’m good.” Thomas hissed as he touched the big lump on the side of his head.

“Did you get a look at the person who attacked you?”

Thomas shook his head. “It happened too fast.” He looked around him to find his bearings. “I was on my way to the generators.”

Both of them ducked for cover as gunshots sounded.

“We need to get the power restored.” Thomas pushed himself to his feet. He swayed and nodded his thanks to Tani as she kept him from falling over. Together they set off towards the old bunker.

Thomas scowled as he took in the broken locks on the steel door. He hoped that they didn’t do any damage to the generator and that the problem could be fixed. After they made sure the bunker was clear, Thomas crouched next to the generator and had a look.

“We’re in luck,” Thomas said as he checked the generator and found nothing wrong. He made his way over to the electrical board and saw that it was shut down. He flipped the correct switch and then switched on the generator itself. Thomas grinned when it sputtered a few times and then roared to life.

“That was easy,” Tani smiled.

“I have a feeling that Ash might not be so happy about this. Whoever was supposed to take care of the generator did a sloppy job by merely shutting it down and not sabotaging it as well.” Thomas wiped his hands on his trousers. He looked around for something he could use as a weapon and grinned when he found a length of pipe. It would work perfectly. He tapped it a few times against the palm of his hand.

“I’m not complaining. I’ll even put in a good word on the man’s behalf if that is the biggest of his crimes here.” Tani made her way back to the door. “We need to get back to the others.”

Thomas nodded as both of them headed back to the mansion. They didn’t travel far before movement to their right brought them to a halt. The both crouched down and waited. A person crept through the vegetation and Thomas sighed when he saw who it was. “Friendlies to your left,” he spoke soft and clear as he and Tani made themselves known. He walked towards Steve and Danny and hugged his partner hard.

“What the hell is going on here?” Steve whispered. “We tried to get in through the gate but couldn't and then we heard shots.”

“Ash is here, together with an unknown number of men,” Thomas explained.

“Where’s Clay?” Steve asked, concerned.

“With Junior. They went to the main house to get the SAT phone to get help and meet up with Bravo,” Tani said.

Thomas groaned.

“What’s wrong, you injured?” Steve started checking the other man out.

Thomas shook his head. “No, I’m okay. The SAT phone is not in the house. It’s in the gym.”

“What is it doing there?” Danny inquired.

“Took it to Hayes as Davis was looking for him.” Thomas rubbed his hand over his face. 

“Okay, let’s head back to the house. We’ve called for backup. Lou and Adam as well as Sergeant Lukela and HPD are on their way,” Steve said as he handed Thomas his backup weapon.

The four quickly made their way back to the main house. They stopped where Tani had stashed the two men and made sure they were still secured before they moved on again. Steve and Thomas brought them to a halt behind a large shrub that gave a view of the front of the house. With the generator restored the whole mansion was lit up. The French doors stood wide open.

“Junior!” Tani gasped as she saw Junior’s sprawled out body lying in the middle of the floor. She wanted to sprint forward, but Steve grabbed her arm and held her back.

“No!” She struggled against him.

“Tani.” Steve shook her arm. “Focus. We need to make sure the area is secure first. It won’t help him if we go running and we’re killed before we can get to him.”

Tani took a deep breath and nodded. She knew Steve was right, but seeing Junior lying there made logic fly out of the window. She only wanted to get to him as soon as possible to see if he was okay. “You’re right. I’m sorry.” She crouched back down again.

“I can’t see any movement from here,” Thomas whispered. “The thing is, Junior is right in the passage that leads deeper into the house. Anyone can be waiting around that corner and unless they move, we’re not going to see them.”

“We can’t just leave him there,” Tani responded desperately.

“We’re not going to.” Thomas squeezed her shoulder.

“Where the hell is Bravo?” Steve hissed. He hated the fact that he couldn’t see any of the team and hoped that they were not lying injured or dead somewhere on the grounds.

“I’ve been wondering the same thing,” Danny replied.

“You think they bailed?” Tani’s voice was laced with anger.

Both SEALs shook their heads. “They won’t do that, but something must be up for them not to be around,” Steve remarked.

“We need to get Junior out of there, but we need to find out where Bravo is.” Thomas looked around.

Steve’s phone buzzed in his pocket and he took it out. He frowned at the unknown number. “Seems like the jammer was taken care of.” He answered the phone. “McGarrett.” Out of the corner of his eye he saw Danny took out his own phone as well.

_“Commander McGarrett, Ensign Davis, Sir. Bravo has contacted me and told me about the situation at Robin’s Nest. I’ve got eyes on the property.”_

Steve grinned. “That’s great news.” He explained to her where they were located. “Can you tell me where Bravo is?” He listened intently as she gave him their location. “Any heat signatures from inside?”

_“Three, Sir. One heat signature approximately fifty-meters in front of you. Another two heat signatures together, around three-hundred meters to the north.”_

“Thank you, Ensign, we’ll keep in touch.” Steve ended the call. He relayed the information to the rest of the team.

“We can see Junior. It seems that Clay is then one of the other heat signatures, but who else is there with him?” Danny asked. He looked down at his phone.

“Ash,” Thomas and Steve responded together.

“The fact that the lights are back on, and the jammer deactivated, tells me he knows we’re closing in and he’s taken Clay hostage.” Thomas shared his thoughts.

“He’s trapped.” Steve frowned.

“What’s wrong,” Tani asked as she saw the look on Steve’s face.

Steve glanced at Thomas. By the look on Thomas’ face his partner had worked it out as well.

“Ash came here to kill Clay. If he’s boxed in and no way out, he would kill Clay and then try to see how many of us he can take out before he’s taken out himself.”

Thomas nodded at Steve’s statement.

Tani paled. “What are we going to do?”

“Bravo is on their way.” Danny informed the team. “Also, I need the keys to your truck. Perry wants the Remington from the back.”

A soft birdcall to their left made them turn and looked on as Bravo used the shadows casted over the grounds to get to their position.

“You guys okay?” Steve asked.

Jason nodded. “Some nicks and bruises.” He watched as Steve handed his keys to Danny and then Danny and Ray moved into the shadows and disappeared.

“Did you get a look inside?” Thomas inquired.

“No. We didn’t want to take the chance, but now that we’ve got eyes in the sky, we’re ready to go in,” Jason answered. He outlined the plan they’d come up with. “The moment Ray lets us know he’s in position we’ll move out.” Jason turned and looked at Steve. “I know this is your jurisdiction, but we, I, need to take point on this.”

Steve nodded. He knew what Jason was asking from him and he had no qualms doing that. “I’ll go in with you guys if Trent is willing to help with Junior?”

“Trent?” Jason asked.

“No problem, Boss.”

“Good. Let’s move.”

The group split in two. Jason led Sonny, Brock and Steve to the northern side of the house while Thomas, Trent and Tani moved south.

Trent and Thomas would retrieve Junior and get him to safety. Jason and the rest of the team would take position up where they could breach the room and get Clay out safely when Ray gave the signal.

Jason watched as Trent and Thomas moved towards the French doors. He knew Trent was in contact with Lisa, and although he’d no problem with them using their phones, he wished they had theirs comms with them. It didn’t take long for Thomas to help lift Junior’s body over Trent’s shoulder and they retreated back to where Tani waited for them.

“All clear,” Steve whispered as Thomas’ message came through that they were safe.

“Let’s do this, boys,” Sonny spoke up for the first time. He had a determined look on his face. They quietly made their way into the house and took their positions in. Now they had to wait for Ray to get into position.

****

**Every Fandom RB Challenge**

Clay knelt on the thick carpet in the middle of the room. His hands here laced together at the back of his head. Ash stood in front of him, but well out of range. Clay knew if he tried to tackle the older man Ash wouldn’t hesitate to shoot him. Right at that moment it didn’t sound too bad of an idea. Ash had shot Junior in cold blood. As Junior fell to the floor Clay had tried to reach his position, but the HK45C in Ash’s hands made him stop in his tracks. Clay had to leave Junior where he was without even knowing if his friend was alive. Ash frog marched him into the library and made him get down on his knees as if he was some sort of unsub.

Ash never spoke another word to him except to order him into the room. Now he stood before Clay and glared at him as Clay was responsible for all things evil in the world.

“You never should’ve been born. Your useless slut of a mother was supposed to get an abortion, but then she chickened out.”

Clay remained silent. He had very few memories of his mother and none of them were good.

“At least her God-fearing parents were good for something when they said they would take you in. Still can’t believe we had to wait for you to turn six before we could send you over. If the old hag just came here, she could’ve flown back with you after you were born. Would’ve saved me thousands of dollars.”

“Thousands of dollars?” Clay couldn’t keep silent anymore. “You never spent a dime on me in your whole life.”

Ash barked out laughing. “And who do you think paid for your dear mother’s sniffing habit? Your grandparents? Stacy herself? Please. I did.” Ash pointed at himself.

“You kept her on drugs?” Anger laced Clay’s voice.

“Don’t get your panty in a twist, Clay. Without the drugs she couldn’t think straight. At least while she was on a high, she could wipe your ass clean.”

Without having regard to his own safety, Clay jumped up and stormed Ash. He got in a solid punch to Ash’s face before his father brought down the weapon and pistol whipped him on the temple. The blow had him stumbling backwards. Blood trailed down the side of his head.

It no longer mattered that Ash could shoot him. All that Clay could think of was that maybe if his mother wasn’t high all the time, she might’ve cared for him, even loved him. He shook his head and charged Ash for a second time. Clay delivered an uppercut followed it up with a jab to Ash’s kidneys before slamming his fist into Ash’s face again. This time he hit the nose square on, and he felt the cartilage gave way beneath his fist. Blood sprayed his fist as Ash bellowed.

Clay leaped away as Ash stormed him. It seemed that he’d forgotten all about the pistol he had in his hand. Clay knew he couldn’t let Ash remember the weapon and he went on the attack. He got a roundhouse kick to Ash’s weapon hand, and the pistol clattered to the floor. Ash went low and with a kick swept Clay’s feet from underneath him. Clay twisted his body and caught Ash on the calf, sending him to the floor as well.

Clay was faster and managed to get on top of his father. He punched him in the face as Ash got hold of his neck and tried to strangle him. They traded more punches. Ash got one into Clay’s side that made Clay grunt in pain.

Jason’s voice sounded through Clay’s head. _‘Don’t play with your food, Clay. Take your enemy down, and take him down hard.’_ Clay reared back to get more distance between him and Ash and jammed his fist into Ash’s face. The blow left Ash unconscious and Clay fell to the side. He breathed hard and his body ached. With some difficulty he crawled away before he finally got to his feet.

“Junior.” Clay stumbled towards the door but at the same time the door burst open and Sonny stormed in.

“Clay!” Sonny watched as Clay’s legs buckled dangerously. He moved deeper into the room to get to his young friend before he collapsed on the floor.

As he grabbed hold of Clay a single high-powered shot sounded through the room. In a single move, Sonny turned their bodies and covered Clay with his own as he took them down to the floor while shards of glass shattered around them.

Silence settled in. Sonny stayed in position as his teammates stormed into the room. He only moved off Clay when he heard Jason’s voice.

“All clear.”

Sonny looked back and saw Ash’s body sprawled out behind him. In his hand he had a HK45C pistol. Blood pooled beneath his head. Sonny lifted his gaze and sighed. “Saved our asses just in time, Ray.”

Ray nodded where he leaned over the edge of the skylight. The Remington still clutched in his hands.

Sonny moved and tapped Clay on the shoulder. “You all right there, Blondie?” Sonny frowned when he received no reply.

“Clay?” His tone of voice made everyone scramble towards them. Clay remained on his stomach. Sonny reached out to turn him but stopped when a fist wrapped around his wrist.

“Don’t move him, let me check,” Trent instructed.

Sonny nodded and moved out of the way. They all watched as Trent examined their youngest brother.

“What’s wrong, Trent. Talk to me? Do we need to call for a medevac?” Jason asked. He had no doubt that between Steve and Lisa, they’d be able to arrange it if necessary.

“Give me a second, Jase,” Trent responded clipped without looking away from what he was doing.

Jason kept quiet but the tension in the room ramped up with each passing second.

Finally, Trent looked up. “He’s okay, Boss. Seems like he clobbered his head against the floor when Sonny covered him with his body.”

“He passed out?” Sonny asked weakly.

“No, he got knocked out. Huge difference, Sonny. He’ll need medical attention for his cuts and bruises, and a CAT scan to be on the safe side, but other than that, he’ll be okay.”

Clay groaned softly and moved his head.

“Easy, Clay. You’re okay.” Trent kept his hand on Clay’s chest in an attempt to keep Clay down. He smiled when Clay opened his eyes. “You okay?”

Clay frowned. He tried to move but stopped when Trent increased the pressure on his chest. 

“Stay put,” Trent warned.

“Trnt?” Clay asked confused.

“Yeah, it’s me, buddy. You’re okay. Just need you to stay put for a while before you move.” Trent responded.

Clay nodded sluggishly. He moved his head and groaned as the world started to spin and a wave of nausea slammed into him. Even before he realized he was sick, Trent had rolled him onto his side. Watery bile spilled on the floor as he vomited over the floor. He breathed hard and moaned as a drummer band made themselves at home in his head.

“Definitely concussed.” Trent helped him clean his face and made him comfortable away from his sick.

Clay looked around bleary eyed. “Where, what?” He tried to get up again.

“Stay put, Sunshine,” Jason said as he hunkered next to Clay. He lifted Clay’s head and gave a small smile. “Nurses are going to have their hands full with you.”

Trent grinned. They all knew how difficult Clay become when he suffered a concussion. “I’ll make sure one of us is with him, Boss.”

Jason nodded.

Clay frowned. He moved his head and his gaze landed on Ash’s dead body. Memories flooded back. “NO!” He pushed Jason and Trent away from him and struggled to get to his feet.

Both Trent and Jason made a grab for him, but he managed to evade them both as he stumbled.

“Wow, easy there, Clay.” Sonny reached out and managed to get hold of Clay. “Where are you going?”

Clay struggled against Sonny’s hold. “No!” He continued to struggle.

“What the fuck, Clay!” Sonny tightened his hold over Clay. “Calm down.”

“NO! Junior. He shot Junior.” Clay continued to fight against Sonny.

Trent moved up behind Clay and pulled him to his chest. “He’s okay, Clay. We’ve got him, he’s on his way to the hospital. He’ll be okay. I promise.”

Clay’s struggles weakened. He leaned heavily against Trent and didn't resist when they lowered him back to the floor. He closed his eyes as the room spun again. He snapped them open and looked around frantically. “Junior!” He called out.

“He’s okay, Clay. We got him.” Trent patiently explained to Clay again. He looked up when hurried footsteps entered the room. He sighed in relief as he saw two METs. Trent explained to them what they were dealing with and he, together with Sonny, helped Clay onto the gurney.

“Trent, you go with them. We’ll follow.” Jason ordered.

“Roger that, Boss.” Trent followed the paramedics from the room, leaving a stunned group of men behind.

Jason walked to where Ash’s body was. He shook his head.

“What are you thinking, Boss?” Brock asked.

“Clay’s gonna blame himself for Ash’s death.”

“And you’ll make sure he gets reminded every day that it was not his fault.”

The group turned at the voice behind them. Steve stood between Danny and Thomas, with Adam and Lou at their backs.

“And if you don’t, we’ll be coming for you.” Thomas added.

“We’ll make sure he knows what he means to us,” Jason promised. They were never going to make that same mistake again.


	8. Epilogue

**Robin’s Nest: 2 Weeks later**

Clay stared at the waves and allowed the sand to drain through his fingers. He was still trying to figure out what was happening with his life. With Ash’s death, and everything surrounding it, he'd wanted to run to the hills and never come back.

Clay looked up when a shadow fell across his legs. He smiled when he noticed it was Adam. “You came to tell me that I've been in the sun for too long?” He got to know the reserved man better and he liked his company.

Adam returned the young man’s smile. “No. But I was wondering if I could join you?” He pointed to the space beside Clay.

“Sure, I don’t mind.” Clay watched as more sand ran through his fingers.

Adam sat down and followed Clay’s lead in looking out at the ocean.

It was Clay, who broke the silence first. “Junior told me a story. I wasn't sure if I believed it. You were head of the Yakuza?” Thinking of Junior made Clay smile. Ash had shot Junior at point blank range, but miraculously, Junior’s injury, although serious, wasn’t life threatening. He had spent a week in hospital and was currently recuperating with Tani by his side.

Adam laughed, but then turned serious. “As was my father, and he tried his utmost best for me not to get involved. He didn’t quite succeed.”

“But you did get out?”

Adam nodded. “I did.”

“Was it hard?”

“In what way?” Adam asked.

“It gave you a lot of power and money. Now you’re a cop.”

Adam shook his head. “When I was a teenager, I was wild. I learned to drive by stealing cars, and it didn’t matter if I got caught, I knew I wouldn’t get arrested. My father would _fix_ things.” He bowed his head. “But then I realized that he was disappointed in me. That he wanted more from me than being Yakuza. It hit me hard and it took me a while to understand why he didn’t want me to be part of that. For me, there was nothing greater than being Yakuza. In the end, I realized that the power and money were tainted with evil, in blood, and it was easy to give it all up.”

“You did it for your father?”

“No, Clay. I did it for myself. My father might have wanted it for me, but he understood that I would only be free of the Yakuza when I realized that I wanted it for myself.”

“Your father loved you.” Clay sounded downhearted.

Adam remained quiet.

“Maybe I wasn’t good enough.” Ever since Ash’s death, Clay suffered from bouts of doubt. He questioned himself if he should’ve tried harder. If he should’ve done things differently.

Adam reached out and placed his hand on Clay’s shoulder. “From what I’ve learned, Clay, is that you are a remarkable young man. You’re the youngest DEVGRU operator. You are one of the best snipers in the world. You’re a polyglot. A genius, a wise-ass and a _ken doll_ , all rolled in one.” Adam smiled when Clay snorted at this last statement. “And I can promise you, you're more than good enough. Ash Spenser was the one with the problem, Clay, not you.”

Adam stared out over the water. “Pete Townshend had a hit in 1985 called [Give Blood](https://youtu.be/V4bD9w61Fs0). Have you ever heard it?”

Clay shook his head.

“I can try and sing it, but then I might get shot.” Adam took out his phone and went through his playlist. He handed his phone over to Clay. “Listen.”

Clay took the phone and hit play. The first thing you heard was what sounded like rotary blades of the choppers in the background before the drums joined in. Clay listened as the lyrics sounded through the small mic. He found that he could relate to the words. That they spoke the truth. They gave their blood but it was never enough. They gave more of what was asked of them but it was not good enough. The only people that understood were his brothers. And that they shared more than blood, they shared love. Love for their country, their families, but more importantly, for their brothers. For those men and women who laid down their lives so that their country could be free. It was better to give love and keep blood between brothers.

When the song ended Clay handed the phone wordlessly back to Adam.

“I never really listened to the words until I first met Steve and Danny. I was trying to get out of the Yakuza and at the same time I started dating my ex-wife, Kono. She was part of the task force. I can tell you, neither of them, or for that matter, Chin, her cousin, was impressed with me. But Kono told them she loved me, and she trusted me, and they took me in as family, as ohana. They had no reason to believe in me, but they did, and they had my back. My own family has written me off, but they never did.” Adam looked at Clay. “You went through hell these last couple of weeks. But I think you’ve realized one thing. Bravo will have your back when you need it.”

Clay nodded wordlessly. He understood that Ash was like those who continued to demand more, who were never satisfied with what you gave them. Bravo on the other hand - they were his real family. His brothers. They would bleed for each other, give more than what was required from them. They would die for each other.

After what had happened in the house and the investigation was finalized, he and Bravo had a chance to talk. Really talk. Jason had given Clay his Bravo patch back. That simple gesture alone had him near to tears. Blackburn had managed to get all of them some extra down time and they decided to stay in Hawaii and just mend as a group.

Clay had decided that he wasn’t going to make contact with the girl that his father raped. He didn’t want to complicate her world any more than what it already was. Ash had died without a will and as Clay was his only living son, he inherited everything. Clay had already made arrangements for all Ash’s assets to be sold. He’d started a trust for his half-brother, which would be run anonymously. Neither the boy, nor his mother, would suffer financially. Clay knew it wouldn’t erase what had happened to her, but he hoped it would make things just a bit easier for them.

“Steve also wanted me to tell you something else.” Adam reached into his pocket and took out a badge he handed it over to Clay.

“What’s this?”

“When the day comes that you have to hang up your spurs, you’re more than welcome to join Five-O. There will always be a spot for you here.”

Clay took the offered badge and smiled. Sonny’s laughter made him turn his head. They were playing touch football on the beach. He handed the badge back to Adam. “Thank you for the offer, but I’m going to hang my spurs where my brothers hang theirs.”

Adam nodded and took the badge back. They all knew Clay would choose his brothers. They were his family. They were brothers beyond blood.

[ ](https://imgur.com/aBVM7Hd)

**The End**


End file.
